


So Comes Snow After Fire

by Lula_Landry



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dominant Kylo Ren, Dragons, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Forced Bonding, Interspecies Romance, Love at First Sight, Magic, Past Child Abuse, Rey Needs A Hug, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:20:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 42,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24247153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lula_Landry/pseuds/Lula_Landry
Summary: Rey's foster sister Bazine is about to get married and wants Rey by her side to help plan the wedding. Everything goes well until Rey meets Kylo Ren, Bazine's fiancé, and falls desperately in love with the groom. All Rey wants to do is run away from an awkward situation but nothing is what it seems in Kylo's world.It turns out Rey may be the only thing standing between Kylo Ren and a dark power. In a world where magic is real and dragons can fall in love, will Rey discover her soul mate?
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 134
Kudos: 196





	1. You Got Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's hard to read about our boy with anyone other than Rey, but stick with me and true love will find a way.

“Do you love her?”

There are some questions a woman should never have to ask her fiancé. Kylo Ren knew this was one.

“No,” his answer came sure and swift. The other woman heard and cringed, sinking further down into her seat, but he couldn’t think of her right now. “I love you, Baz. Only you.”

Bazine Netal looked at him with sapphire blue eyes so pristine they were the opposite of the emotionally murky situation in which they found themselves. Because of him. They were entangled in this thorny problem because of a mistake he’d made.

Being supreme leader came with a great price. While other men might make errors and laugh them off, his actions had consequences that reverberated across centuries.

“I don’t understand, Kylo,” Baz continued, her tone stricken. “How do you know this curse…”

“It’s penance,” he corrected, because in his world the difference between a curse and contrition was profound.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have interrupted her. A flicker of irritation crossed Baz’s lovely face before she continued. “How do you know your act of penance is real and not just in your mind?”

“It is,” he said simply. “You know I’m having problems.”

“Yes, but maybe there’s another reason why you’re… struggling.” She glanced at the young woman in the corner, clearly wishing she wasn’t there for this conversation.

The other woman looked, if possible, even more miserable than Baz.

She had begged not to attend. She didn’t want to witness the inevitable hurt and betrayal on Baz’s face when Kylo explained their dilemma. But Kylo didn’t care about the girl’s feelings. Not in this moment. He wanted to save his relationship with Bazine and that meant complete honesty.

Perhaps if Baz could see how reluctant they both were to enter into this covenant she would find a way to forgive them. To forgive him.

Except he wasn’t so reluctant, was he? Not anymore.

He realised Baz was waiting on his reply. “You have seen the results of Snoke’s decree.”

Baz flushed. “I knew something was wrong.” Again she shot the other woman a resentful glance.

Kylo twitched at this statement. Despite his own issues, he’d fought to keep up appearances and doubted Baz had noticed anything amiss. He told himself she’d been justifiably preoccupied.

“My desire for you is matchless,” he said with as much feeling as he could muster, “but it’s been over a month and I need relief. My judgment, my skills in battle, my magic… All I am has been affected.”

For the first time since the start of their incendiary conversation Baz turned to the other woman. “How come _you’re_ the chosen one?”

The female looked in mute appeal at Kylo and Baz’s lips thinned in annoyance.

Despite his fiancée’s reaction, he answered for the girl. “She was convenient.”

Baz’s gaze narrowed. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “If she hadn’t been living with us, Snoke may have chosen another.”

Baz’s ire increased. “Are you telling me I invited my own rival into my home?”

“She’s not your rival, Baz,” Kylo said. He stepped forward to take the blonde’s hand but she turned her back on him. “This is a good thing. Better a woman you know and trust than some she-devil from the depths of Exegol.”

“I would have preferred a stranger,” Baz spat. “How could a friend do this to me?”

“Baz, please,” the female in the corner finally spoke. She sounded broken. “You must know it wasn’t my intention to play this role. I would never hurt you. You’re the closest thing I have to family.”

Bazine kept her back to them both, hands clenched by her side. “Don’t speak to me. Don’t you dare.”

Kylo sighed. “It’s not her fault…”

Baz turned on him, eyes blazing. “And don’t you dare defend her!”

He raised a hand, as if deflecting waves of anger. “I have to make atonement, Baz. The fate of my people depends upon it. I… I need her.”

Tears welled up in Bazine’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “Why are you telling me this, Kylo? You should have done what you needed to do and hidden it from me like a normal man.”

Kylo Ren hesitated. As ugly as the truth had been so far, this next fact was worse.

“Baz… this affliction… my penance will last a human lifetime.”

Baz’s wail of grief was too much for the other woman. She fled the room.

Kylo reached out a hand to stop her, only managing to catch a lock of chestnut red hair before it slipped out of his fingers. Just like that he felt ready to burst, an ache invading his body that went done deep.

Yes, he would go to her, even at the risk of losing Bazine. He had to or he would descend into madness.

Kylo had never felt so helpless in all his life. He was a warrior king and yet the intricacies of statecraft had him bound in a prison more painful than anything he’d experienced before.

A month ago, Rey Niima was a normal girl living a normal life.

She was a lawyer at a prestigious Manhattan firm, a junior associate eager to climb the corporate ladder. Rey led a plain vanilla existence, mundane even, but that was what she liked about it. Her childhood had been punctuated by tragedy, so ordinary things held immense appeal.

She’d made friends at work, carefully cultivating her social life. She found a studio apartment to rent with a view of the city, gratified to be able to pay bills with ease. Her savings account looked healthier every week. Life was good.

The day Rey received a call from Bazine seemed providential. She hadn’t heard from her foster sister in years but some bonds were near impossible to break.

Baz was the happiest Rey had ever heard, and that was saying something for the outgoing blonde. She announced she was engaged to a man so amazing Rey suspected he was fictional.

Rey was her only family and Baz wanted the other girl by her side to help with wedding preparations. Of course, Rey would be maid of honour.

“What’s up?”

Rey nearly spilled her ‘Yoda Best Lawyer’ coffee mug with the little green alien depicted above the words. There weren’t many things able to make her forget the harsh realities of life but space adventures in a galaxy far, far away somehow always did the trick.

“Gwen!” she protested, taking a gulp of scalding liquid before it slopped.

Her manager Gwen Phasma laughed out loud, a sharp cackle that turned many an amused head in their vicinity. “Sorry, Rey. I’ve never seen you looking so stumped. Finally caught a case you can’t win?”

Rey flushed. Ever since her arrival at Palpatine, Grievous and Tarkin, Gwen had taken her under her wing. Rey had impressed the statuesque blonde with her work ethic and razor sharp intellect. In fact, Gwen began calling Rey ‘the Jedi lawyer’ in public, much to the younger woman’s embarrassment.

“No, it’s not that. My foster sister rang.”

Gwen raised her eyebrows sky high and Rey felt the colour in her cheeks deepen. While she never lied about the fact that she was a product of their nation’s foster system, neither did she go into details about her past.

“Everything okay?” Gwen asked, lowering her voice.

Rey nodded. “Very okay,” she reassured her manager. “Bazine is getting married in a couple of months and wants me to help organise the wedding.”

Gwen rested her toned behind on the edge of Rey’s neat desk. “You guys must be pretty close.”

“Actually, we’re not,” Rey confessed. “We haven’t really spoken in years apart from a few social media likes.”

“And she wants you to plan her wedding? Colour me confused.”

Rey sighed. How to explain her complex relationship with Baz?

“Neither one of us have any family,” Rey said briskly, not wanting the statement to provoke pity in Gwen. “I guess I’m all she has. Bazine was never a girl’s girl, you know? She was always flitting from one boyfriend to the next. I’m probably her only female friend.”

Gwen nodded. “Yeah, I know women like that. Sounds like she needs you.”

Rey shrugged, nursing her burnt tongue.

“I think you should go.”

Rey stared at her manager in surprise.

“I know, I know,” Gwen laughed. “I’m usually the one cracking the whip, but this is the right time, Rey. You’ve just secured your associate position, your case load is clear and you have weeks of leave owed to you by the company. Better you take a break now than burn out in the middle of some huge criminal case that might otherwise make you a partner.”

Rey blinked. Gwen had a point.

“Bazine’s fiancé does live by the California coast…”

“Fabulous!” Gwen crowed. “You might be able to catch a few rays, Rey. You used to have a great natural tan. Being exposed to nothing but office lights is turning you transparent.”

Laughing, Rey flung a paper clip at Gwen’s head.

In truth, Rey’s initial reaction was to wish Baz _hadn’t_ called her. Not because she wasn’t happy for her foster sister or the idea of an unexpected holiday, but Rey found romantic relationships- even the ones that weren’t her own- difficult to navigate.

She’d never been in love and concealed that fact like a dark secret. At the age of twenty-five, a lack of romantic experience made her awkward on the whole subject. She honestly didn’t know if she’d be any good at planning a wedding considering it was an entire day dedicated to the idea of eternal love.

But she owed a debt to Baz, one that could never be repaid, so Rey pasted a smile on her face to cover her qualms as she purchased a flight ticket from her work travel agent. A day later, a taxi dropped her off at a sprawling hundred-acre estate.

She was stunned at the sight of a vast Gothic mansion. It was built from shale and slate and sat atop a sloping hill. Emerald green ivy draped tough looking walls, actual gargoyles perched on steep rooftops and graceful marble fountains depicting woodland creatures were planted in front of thick oak double doors. Despite medieval architectural elements, she also spotted signs for electrified fences and discreet cameras. The place was a fortress.

Of course, Baz had been lucky enough to land a gazillionaire.

Rey was met at the door by a frazzled looking butler in dress blacks who went by the name of Threepio. “Ms Niima?”

She nodded, her eyes transfixed by the sweeping central staircase behind Threepio’s lanky form. A stupendous chandelier made of pearls hung above a larger than life oil painting of a dark haired man in armour with a blazing red sword.

Baz came skipping down the stairs, resplendent in Chanel couture leisurewear, her makeup flawless and her golden hair in a perfectly curled high ponytail. Despite this, she looked reassuringly normal next to her surroundings.

“Rey-rey!” she cried, crushing her friend to her generous breasts.

Rey laughed at this childhood nickname. She and Bazine had been in the same orphanage and then foster home for years before the system split them up again. Fortunately, they’d been able to find each other online.

Rey felt immediate guilt that Bazine’s pretty face conjured up both good and bad memories, none of which were the blonde’s fault. They’d been powerless children lacking the protection of a loving family and some recollections were sure to be negative.

“How are you?” Rey exclaimed as enthusiastically as she could.

Baz stepped back and took a long look at Rey in her New York Knicks hooded jumper, blue jeans and scuffed sneakers. Rey liked being comfortable whenever she flew.

“You’re just the same, Rey-rey,” Baz said with a shake of her head. “Still pulling your hair into three buns.”

Rey tried not to take that personally. “You look great.”

“This helps,” Bazine said with a wide grin.

Baz lifted her left hand and Rey gave a genuine gasp at the ten-carat princess cut rock on her ring finger.

“Woah, I’m blinded!”

Baz burst into pleased giggles. “He’s the one, Rey-rey. I’m gonna be Mrs Kylo Ren. How lucky am I?”

“Really lucky,” Rey said with a meaningful glance at the wealth surrounding them. “What exactly does Kylo do?” she asked, stumbling a little over the name. But seriously—who called their child Kylo Ren? She supposed even the perfect man had to have one flaw.

“He’s in government work,” Baz replied blithely, which made no sense to Rey since a government salary was not exactly what millions were made of.

Rey opened her mouth to dig a little deeper but was interrupted by Threepio.

“Lunch had been prepared poolside as requested, Ms Bazine. Are you hungry, Ms Niima?”

“Starving,” Rey said gratefully to the smiling old man. “And please, call me Rey.”

Threepio nodded. “As you wish, Ms Rey. If you leave your bag here in the foyer I’ll make sure it arrives in your room.”

Rey stared at him. “Oh, no, that’s fine. I can carry…”

“Rey,” Baz interrupted her firmly, “it’s hard, I know, but could you let someone else look after you for once?”

Rey bit her lip at her foster sister’s surprisingly keen insight. Perhaps Bazine did know her after all. “Sure.”

Baz led the way through the ground floor with its arched doorways and antique style furnishings toward the back. Concertina glass doors were open to a tiled outdoor area with a gleaming kidney-shaped swimming pool where a sumptuous lunch of roast chicken and salads was waiting for them. Baz abstained from freshly baked bread rolls while Rey slathered two in butter.

“How do you stay so skinny?” Baz demanded irritably.

Rey shrugged. “I forget to eat when I’m working. I’ll put on a few pounds if this is the kind of food Threepio serves.”

“Kylo’s pretty blasé about what he eats,” Baz said, picking at a crisp lettuce leaf, “but Threepio insists on looking after him like a king.”

“That’s sweet,” Rey murmured around a mouthful of bread and chicken. “When do I get to meet the great man?”

“Kylo’s away for a few days with work so we have the mansion to ourselves, though technically we aren’t alone since we’re still surrounded by Threepio and a dozen staff members.”

Rey looked back inside the palatial house. “How big is this place?”

“I’ll take you on a tour after lunch,” Bazine said smugly.

It turned out the mansion had a dozen bedrooms, three living areas, two formal dining areas (one bigger than the next), an honest-to-goodness ballroom, a music studio, a games room, a state-of-the-art theatre, an indoor swimming pool and a gymnasium better equipped than the one Rey paid to belong to in downtown Manhattan.

The grounds were no less impressive, boasting its own private stables, a well-stocked pond, tennis courts and a sculptural garden. And that didn’t even take into account the south wing which was where Kylo had his study and private suite.

Despite feeling like a fish out of water, Rey enjoyed the extraordinary experience.

In terms of personality she was winter to Baz’s summer, but they got along all the more for that fact. They’d always balanced each other out. Rey was quiet while Baz was loud. Rey was bookish while Baz excelled at sports. Rey preferred independence while Baz liked being spoiled. But even Rey had to admit the level of luxury in Kylo’s mansion was incredibly seductive.

To begin with the guest room she’d been given for the duration of her stay was exquisite. It was almost as big as her studio apartment back home and decorated in late century Baroque style. The walls were painted deep French blue, the couches and divans upholstered in pale blue silk. A miniature crystal chandelier hung from an intricately plastered ceiling and her bed was a four-poster behemoth with white satin sheets.

Waking up in that bed was a trip. The first morning she’d been so entangled in slippery bedclothes she’d fallen off the edge in an awkward impression of an avalanche.

As the days ticked by, Rey grew to adore Threepio with his fussy and attentive ways. He in turn doted on Bazine as if she were a long lost princess. When Baz explained Threepio had been in Kylo’s service his whole life, Rey’s estimation of her foster sister’s yet unseen fiancé rose several notches. Kylo must have done something right to inspire such fealty.

The wedding planning wasn’t as arduous as Rey had feared either. Her naturally organised mind relished ticking off Bazine’s to-do list, and there were some definite high points, like sessions of cake tasting in gloriously overpriced celebrity bakeries.

It was all going so well… until Kylo came home.

If Rey had known her world was about to turn upside down all because of one man, she would have run.


	2. Cursing My Name

Rey remembered her first meeting with Kylo Ren in excruciating detail.

It was the morning of a new day. She’d paired her pink sequinned Mini Mouse t-shirt with raggedy denim cut-offs and sneakers. She wore no makeup except a little apple scented lip gloss, her only accessory the mobile phone she’d been paging through as she walked into the dining room.

Rey started to speak as if she and Baz were in the middle of a conversation. “Are you sure you want your bouquet to be all white? There’s something to be said for a hint of colour, like a white rose with a lavender heart…”

“Rey!” Baz interrupted, sounding even more wildly excited than normal. Since spending money was very much in Bazine’s wheelhouse she’d remained a remarkably happy bride.

“What?” Rey muttered, pausing before a silver tray to snag a piece of crispy bacon before returning to her phone screen. She didn’t wait for a reply. “If you’re looking for off season flowers, it’s better to order them now,” she continued.

Baz started laughing but Rey ignored her. “Those gorgeous lavender roses are out of stock right now but…” She nearly dropped her phone when a deep male voice spoke.

“It’s heartening to see your dedication to my bride, Rey.”

Rey looked up and was immediately mesmerised by spectacular amber eyes. Her heart seized inside her chest like the man before her had reached out and squeezed it in his fist.

And had she thought his eyes were amber? That was too simple a description for dark golden pools so intense they belonged to a wild predator. She blinked when she caught a blood red spark emanating from the centre of his iris, like a flash of ruby lightning. Had he stunned her so badly she was imagining things?

“Hello,” she squeaked, her face betraying her by turning tomato red.

“Rey, this is Kylo,” Baz said rather unnecessarily since she was hand in hand with the newcomer. “Rey is my oldest friend, Kylo. I’m so glad you two finally get to meet.”

“It’s a pleasure,” that smooth, deep voice declared.

Kylo kept one hand on Baz’s shoulder while he extended his other arm and pulled Rey to him. She bit back a gasp as he embraced her, her nose momentarily buried in his shirt front. He smelled incredible; like fresh rain with an undertone of rich earth.

Rey stumbled when he released her. What was wrong with her? She was struggling to maintain her equilibrium both physically and mentally.

Kylo Ren was as big and broad as a barn door, six foot six Baz proudly told her when they were alone, every inch of him rippling with muscle and sinew. His skin was like marble, flawless and pale, his raven black hair a few inches too long for propriety, thick like rope. Rey fought the urge to smooth back the tousled waves, knotting her fingers together until they ached.

He was unconventionally handsome, his fantastic amber eyes set deep in a long face with wide cheekbones, a dominant nose and a plush mouth the colour of maple syrup. Rey wanted to taste his lips so badly she backed up to ensure she didn’t lunge at the man.

She took stock of his clothes and wondered if it was some European trend that had him dressed in black leather britches tucked into black boots, and a white linen shirt drawn at his throat and wrists with cord. He was rakish enough to have been the star of a pirate movie. A black jacket was draped over the back of a dining chair and Rey realised he must have just come home.

He’d headed straight to see his beloved Baz. Why did that realisation make her heart twist inside her chest?

The longer she looked at Kylo the more she noticed; a faded bruise on one cheek, a healed cut over an eye. Surely he hadn’t been fighting? A thin scar ran from his hairline along the centre edge of his right eyebrow, down his cheek and neck, finally disappearing inside his shirt. It must have been a serious wound at one point, almost carving his face in half. It didn’t detract from his appearance, instead only adding character.

His broad hands were callused as if used to manual labour. Again, a surprise. She’d expected manicured fingers, a Wall Street stockbroker type in a Tom Ford suit with a Rolex on his wrist, not this elegant savage with curiously intelligent eyes. Kylo seemed ready to lead an army of Huns.

One thing that could not be denied was he cared for Baz. Rey sat without eating or drinking as Bazine draped herself all over Kylo at the breakfast table, cooing like a dove. His response to her nauseating behaviour was both gentle and loving. He kept one arm on her shoulders or around her waist at all times, as if he couldn’t get enough of touching her.

“What do you do, Rey?” he asked, waving at her to take a seat.

Rey pushed around the scoop of scrambled eggs she’d put on a plate so it looked like she had an appetite. She usually ate twice of what Baz did on a normal day and thought it would look suspicious if she consumed nothing. Fortunately, Baz seemed distracted by the arrival of her future husband.

“I- I’m a lawyer,” Rey told him, wincing as she stumbled over that simple answer. “I’m training to be a criminal defence attorney.”

“Really?” Baz asked in surprise.

Typical Baz. They’d been together a week and she still didn’t know much about Rey’s life in Manhattan. All their discussions were wedding related.

Rey saw Kylo give Baz an amused smile, like he knew the blonde was self-involved and he found it adorable. _Ugh._

“Well, no, not really,” Rey said. “I’d rather be in the public defender’s office but criminal law is where the money is. I’m hoping to build up my bank balance before switching sides. Not that anyone at my company knows.” Rey took a breath, shocked she’d just revealed a life plan she hadn’t talked about to anyone else.

“Oh Rey, that’s so like you,” Baz smirked. “Champion of the poor and needy. And still so practical with it. Who else but you would create a safety net before chasing their dreams?”

Rey found Baz’s comment incredibly condescending, but she was more embarrassed by the fact she’d admitted her financial status to a man who clearly had more money than Scrooge McDuck. She squirmed on the inside, hoping Kylo didn’t think she was asking for a handout.

“I think its commendable,” Kylo said, giving her a curious look. “And learning from the dark side will probably help you when you defect.”

Rey nodded, pleased he understood. Her heart was bursting with the need to tell Kylo all about herself, which was the strangest reaction she’d ever had to a man. Fortunately, Bazine was already bored with the conversation and began detailing their last few days of wedding preparation.

After what she hoped was a respectable amount of time, Rey begged their leave. She suggested the lovers might want to be alone and promptly escaped to her bedroom. Her final sight of the couple was burned into her brain; Baz lowering her shapely bottom onto Kylo’s lap while he looked past at Rey with strange knowledge.

His expression scared her. Did he know? He must, because she felt as transparent as glass. Baz hadn’t seen because her eyes were full of her handsome fiancé but Rey was afraid Kylo had read her like a book.

Rey locked herself in her bedroom, turning the big old fashioned key for the first time since she’d arrived at the house. She sat down at an ornate dressing table, gazing at her reflection as if it were a stranger’s and dispassionately assessed what she saw.

Her untidy halo of chestnut red hair was pulled back into her ubiquitous three messy buns. Just an hour ago she’d thought the hairstyle was cute but now it looked juvenile. Her hazel eyes seemed too big for her face, appearing naïve and startled. Her lips were a classic cupid’s bow pink that she now deemed too thin. She thought she’d reenergised her naturally tanned skin thanks to afternoons in the Californian sunshine but right now her complexion was like paste.

Rey suddenly and violently burst into tears. So this was what it felt like to be in love. Dear God, how was that possible?

She’d once heard love described as a sickness but she’d scoffed at the idea. Love was a calculated choice, not an inescapable virus. Love was a plan one made if the loneliness grew too difficult. And yet here she sat, weeping so hard her shoulders shook, irrevocably in love with a man who belonged to a woman she considered her sister.

She was a terrible person, an awful human being.

No, she had to get a grip. She was being ridiculous. How could she have fallen in love in seconds? Love at first sight didn’t exist. But then why was her heart bleeding inside her chest, as if ripped into shreds by a wild animal?

Think, she told herself. Be logical. She was good at that.

Kylo belonged to Baz. They were to be married in two months because, Baz told her, he didn’t want a long engagement. Despite the fact Kylo already had the pretty blonde in his bed and under his roof, he still wanted to put his ring on her finger. That was true love; a man willing and eager to bind himself to one woman for the rest of his life.

Ergo, Kylo Ren was not the man for Rey. She rarely did romance and boyfriends as it was. She definitely wouldn’t be foolish enough to be interested in another woman’s mate.

Then what was she feeling? Why the tears? Wherefore this cloud of utter desolation engulfing her as if her only chance at happiness was gone?

She had to stop torturing herself. All her life she’d been in control of her emotions. It had prevented heartache and disappointment whenever she was sent to a new foster home. Baz was the one determined to mine the potential of every person she met. Rey preferred to put up walls around her heart.

And now a strange, beautiful man named Kylo had not just slipped through her defences, he’d shattered stony barriers around the softest part of her soul. She’d barely spoken to him, knew nothing of him, and yet she was desperately, gut-wrenchingly in love.

Rey’s life would never be the same again, but for the sake of Baz she had to pretend nothing had changed and all was well.

All was not well.

Kylo scowled up at the mirrored ceiling of his bedroom. It was a shamelessly masculine space with navy blue furnishings and deep grey walls, his mammoth bed a wrought iron sculpture that could have sustained him and half a dozen women. Beside him, however, was the only woman he wanted.

Bazine slept soundly, her cheeks flushed pink, her golden blonde hair a shining waterfall of curls down her nude back. They’d made love for hours. Kylo had done his best to pleasure his future wife and, based on her cries alone, he’d been more than successful. What was less of a success was his own satisfaction.

He glared at his manhood, a prodigious piece of equipment that had never let him down. It was stone hard, painfully swollen so that it looked longer than usual, his balls aching companionably.

He hadn’t reached climax. Despite the wickedly delicious things Baz had done with her wet mouth and wetter sex, Kylo couldn’t achieve his release.

Growing desperate, he grasped his thick member, tugging and stroking in an effort to manually relieve the pressure. Nothing. All he’d managed to do was become even more painfully inflamed.

So now he lay on black satin sheets, his body exposed to the cool night air, hoping that would lessen his steely erection. Unaccountably, his thoughts kept returning to Baz’s friend, Rey. Not in an erotic way, of course. He just couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the girl.

She was a strange creature, painfully shy and skittish. Rey had struggled to meet his eyes, blushing at his every comment. For a woman aspiring to be a criminal lawyer, he found it surprising she was barely able to hold a conversation.

Kylo had eventually given up on drawing out Rey and turned his attention solely to Baz. She didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with her friend, but then Bazine could be a trifle myopic about anything except her own needs. And right now her focus was their upcoming wedding.

Rey wasn’t even that pretty, Kylo thought irritably.

Baz was a bombshell, supermodel tall and slim with lush breasts and a heartbreaker of an ass. Her golden blonde hair had perhaps been lightened with peroxide and her bright blue eyes were thickly framed by mascara, but she was a stunner in most rooms.

Rey was a little thing, barely tall enough to reach past his chest, her glossy chestnut red hair her most standout feature. She was skinny, though her t-shirt clung to small breasts with impressively juicy nipples. She was pale gold all over with a mouth that was too wide for her delicate face. Her eyes were interesting, the green of a spring leaf with a deep brown centre, but Rey did not command attention. Not like Bazine.

And yet here he lay, still pondering her lacklustre presence.

Their friendship puzzled Kylo; the two women seemed so dissimilar. Still, Rey was Baz’s one link to her past and childhood bonds were hard to shake.

Rey seemed genuinely willing to be Baz’s sidekick in all things wedding related and he was more than happy for the young woman to hang around if it meant Baz was less of a bridezilla.

He glared at his still throbbing sex. If anything, it looked more swollen. This was ridiculous.

Kylo got out of bed and headed for his black-tiled bathroom, intent on a cold shower. He struggled to stop thinking of Rey as he touched himself.


	3. Your Pretty Heart

The house was filled with guys; gorgeous, hard muscled specimens, any one of whom could have graced the cover of a men’s health magazine. But all Rey wanted to do was stare at Kylo’s ass in those black leather pants.

She wished he’d stop wearing them, which gave her a momentary vision of what his male buttocks might look like completely unclothed, and she had to shake her head to clear it. She needed to focus. Today, like every day since she’d arrived at Kylo’s mansion, was about Bazine.

Rey could be forgiven for losing concentration. She wasn’t sleeping well. Her nights were plagued by sweaty, sensual dreams that involved her nude form wrapped around Kylo’s magnificent body in some erotic way or other. She thought she would go crazy from her teeming imagination.

In the daytime, she was wracked with guilt over her continued infatuation. Baz’s narcissism meant she saw no difference in her foster sister’s behaviour, but Rey was sure Kylo considered her an imbecile. She still wasn’t able to look at the man without blushing and stammering.

But back to the stable of young bucks who’d invaded the mansion.

Unlike Baz, whose only female friend appeared to be Rey, Kylo had no shortage of companions. Apparently he knew them from work but there was a camaraderie amongst the men that indicated lengthy and close-knit bonds.

And they all had strange names.

There was Poe with his leonine mane of dark curls, handsome and charming. He was knowledgeable in all he did, challenging the others around him but still deferring to Kylo’s judgment.

Finn was Kylo’s best man and closest friend. He wore his dark hair cropped short, his chocolate eyes brimming with mischief. He was doing his utmost to annoy the others with his hideously inappropriate humour. Rey found herself laughing at Finn’s jokes even though some of his references were hard to fathom. She was grateful for the distraction.

Snap was almost as broad as he was thick with muscle. He was the least likely to speak but when he did everyone paid attention.

Mitaka was the baby of the group, his mahogany hair flowing to his collar in waves, sky blue eyes watching proceedings in wonderment. He seemed happy just to be included.

And Hux rounded up the imposing assemblage, the only one as tall as Kylo, his red hair worn pushed back from a naturally pale face, eyes glittering like cut emeralds. He was preternaturally serious, his lethal presence second only to Kylo’s.

Despite the fact she’d been turned into a love-struck puppy over a man she barely knew, Rey hadn’t lost all her brain cells. Something wasn’t right about Kylo and his crew. They all showed signs of a life of violence, their faces and arms covered in cuts and bruises. They might have been old world Vikings with their swaggering masculinity.

And then there was Kylo’s astounding wealth. Where had it come from? Rey had queried Baz more than once about her future husband’s so-called government work but received no further details. And while her old friend seemed unconcerned about Kylo’s dealings, Rey also got the feeling Baz was hiding something from her.

Rey didn’t want to think that these men formed some kind of criminal organisation headed by Kylo, but there was really no other option for her to consider.

The truth, as it turned out, was far more fantastic than Rey could have imagined.

The afternoon wasn’t going well. Bazine had lost her temper several times with Kylo and his friends, none of whom seemed to be in the mood to pay heed to her instructions.

They had driven an hour from the mansion and were now congregated on a cliff’s edge overlooking the coastline, an absolutely stunning surrounding Baz was trying out for the ceremony. The roaring waves down below were making it hard to hear anything, including Baz’s screechy instructions.

A stressed tailor and three intimidated assistants were also running around, trying to get the guys to stand still long enough to have their measurements taken. It wasn’t often the men had time off work and Baz was taking advantage of the situation.

She’d decided the groomsmen would be in marigold silk and at least two of them had already openly refused to wear anything so foppish. Rey never thought she’d hear the word 'foppish' used outside of a Shakespearean play.

For once Rey was of little help to Baz since Finn had become interested in her presence. While Baz squawked her dissatisfaction, Finn cornered Rey in the scenic clearing, enjoying himself by flirting up a storm. What distracted her even more was Kylo had noticed his best man’s behaviour and was glowering in their direction.

Rey suspected Kylo didn’t think she was good enough for Finn. It made her reckless where she would have normally been careful. She could practically feel Kylo’s animosity as she straightened the collar of Finn’s new silk shirt, the sleeves held together with pins. The dark man preened, enjoying her attention.

That was apparently the last straw for Kylo. He stomped over and pushed his friend away from Rey, drawing a look of surprise from Finn.

“What’s up?” he asked, so taken aback he forgot to be upset.

“She’s Baz’s foster sister, Finn. Treat her with respect,” was all Kylo said, but the words came out through gritted teeth.

Finn smirked. “Oh, I’ll be respectful. I intend to respect the pants right off her.”

“I can hear you both,” Rey snapped, unaccountably furious at this byplay.

All week she’d been tortured by Kylo’s presence. Couldn’t he let her have a laugh with his friend? She knew she’d given him a bad impression with her inability to speak full sentences but it was still insulting. Though she supposed feeling slighted was preferable to mooning over Kylo.

The two men turned to face her and Rey’s heart stuttered. She hadn’t been this close to Kylo in days but he continued to affect her like a gale force wind.

Rey wasn’t thinking when she took a step backwards; she only wanted to escape Kylo’s unfailing hold on her heart. Too late she felt the slip and slide of rock. Her left leg went first and suddenly there was no ground for her to stand on. She screamed as she fell to her death, twenty storeys above jagged rocks and crashing blue waves.

Kylo moved with such speed it was as if time slowed. His big hand caught her arm, holding her up in thin air with effortless strength, pulling her back to safety. Rey clutched at him, her fingers digging into the steel muscles beneath his shirt. She looked full into Kylo’s face for the first time since they’d met, her defences stripped away, and what she saw stole her breath.

His amber gaze with its red lightning sparks was transformed. Round black pupils were now slits set in a background of brilliant ruby red. His pale skin had darkened to that same shimmering crimson and, before her very eyes, scales began to form on his neck and jaw, his thick black hair shortening, disappearing into his skull.

Kylo was transforming, changing… turning into something entirely alien and other.

Rey knew she should be screaming. This revelation of another form should have horrified her pedestrian sensibilities, except she was instantly enthralled.

His big hands now sported thick black claws, the skin of his fingers and arms rippling as more raised ruby scales appeared. Kylo dropped his grip on her but Rey was only able to stop herself from sinking to her knees by holding on to his shirtfront.

The fabric of his clothes was beginning to tear as his already imposing body grew in height and width. Unthinking, Rey reached out a hand and cupped the red scaled jaw. It was tense with muscle, the feel of it cool and dry, seductive beneath the pads of her comparatively tiny fingers.

“You are…” she began, swallowing the word before it could be spoken.

“What?” he demanded, his deep voice grown to a husky roar, his face only fractionally human.

“Beautiful,” she admitted, and to her shame her eyes filled with tears.

“My lord!” someone shouted behind them.

Finn came out of his stupor as well. “Are you okay, Rey?” he asked.

“Me?” she replied with a hysterical giggle. “Kylo’s a dinosaur.”

“That’s one way to describe him,” Finn agreed.

Behind them, Rey saw the other men exchange glances.

Kylo began changing back into his human form, the scales vanishing, his eyes turning amber once more. He stepped away from Rey’s still clinging hands and she flushed, crossing her arms over her chest so she wouldn’t reach for him.

Baz appeared like a honey blonde angel, her face concerned. “I think we have to tell her, darling,” was all she said.

Kylo drew a heavy sigh, his reluctance making Rey sad. There was a mystery here, a secret that Bazine shared with Kylo that she, Rey, had no part of.

What was wrong with her? Why wasn’t she reacting in fear and disbelief? Why was she practically humming with excitement over what had taken place?

And still she wanted Kylo. She was messed up.

Kylo was watching her face, reading what he saw there. “Yes,” he agreed, “Rey should be told.”

All things considered, Rey had taken the news of alternate worlds fairly well.

Kylo watched the little female in conversation with Baz, unable to focus on anything else despite other pressing matters. Like how the hell he’d lost control when the human girl was in danger.

He’d been in a bad mood the last few weeks. His body was refusing to climax, turning the act of sex into a thing of torture. Luckily, Baz was so exhausted from planning the wedding she’d been happy for the reprieve. He’d manufactured a story about a groin injury to explain his abrupt halt in passion but she hadn’t questioned him too deeply about it.

The truth was he was miserable. He couldn’t focus on anything except the ache in his bones. It was turning him into an absolute bastard to be around.

He blamed his condition for the way he’d reacted to Finn that afternoon. Kylo acknowledged he’d grown increasingly annoyed as his best friend flirted with Rey. When she’d put her hand on the other man’s shoulder, he’d damn near roared with rage.

He’d saved her from falling off the edge of the cliff, but Kylo knew his presence was what put her in danger in the first place. She’d been scrambling to get away from him, and who could blame her with the way he was behaving? It was a miracle Rey hadn’t yet told Bazine to leave him.

He knew the girl was asking questions about the source of his money but that was to be expected. Kylo’s family had amassed a staggering amount of wealth over the centuries and he’d grown comfortable spending it, but it wasn’t how most people lived.

The group had reconvened at Kylo’s home after Mitaka wiped the memories of the hysterical tailor and his assistants. The youngster’s gifts were already proving to be a valuable addition to the team.

Baz sat next to Rey on a corner of a large L-shaped couch, Finn claiming the spot on Rey’s other side much to Kylo’s irritation. The rest of his men floated around the cool green living room, awkward on delicately crafted antique furniture. All except Hux who stood by the door as usual, polishing the six-inch dagger he kept in his left boot.

Kylo expected Rey to react to the weapon but she only had eyes for him. This soothed him somewhat, even though Finn’s hand with its thick gold rings kept creeping closer to the girl.

“What are you?” Rey had asked before he could speak.

The question might have been insulting except she spoke in a tone of awe.

Kylo sat on the mahogany coffee table three feet away from his fiancée and her foster sister, elbows on knees. “We are fae,” he said, seeing no reason to sugar coat his response. “Elves, fairies, centaurs, sprites, ogres, goblins and a hundred other creatures now considered myth by humanity are very real, Rey.”

“Yes, but,” she licked her soft mouth, hazel eyes unaccountably bright, “who are _you,_ Kylo?”

Baz stirred at Rey’s side but said nothing. She was probably remembering the time Kylo revealed his magical side to her. He’d brought Mitaka along in case the pretty blonde turned hysterical. Human beings behaved in different ways upon discovering the truth.

“I am the supreme leader,” he said, watching Rey closely. “I rule the realm of Naboo. The men in this room are my Royal Guard and together we protect the borders of our world and yours from… attacks.”

Rey tilted her head to one side. “On the cliffside, when you saved me, what did you become?”

“We call it the dragon,” Finn said, looking sheepish as Kylo gave him a piercing look.

“Do you all… turn?”

“No,” Kylo snapped, annoyed Rey was looking at his friend for answers. Hazel eyes returned to his and he took a calming breath. “My blood is the oldest and purest amongst my kind and my avatar reveals itself when in battle. With my men, their magic manifests in the form of different powers.”

“Like Mitaka’s mental abilities,” Rey said, looking at the young man who gave her an eager smile.

“Yes,” Kylo agreed. “Finn wields fire.”

He deliberately made himself bring up his best friend. Why should he care if Finn was able to successfully flirt his way between the girl’s legs? Except the very thought made his head throb.

“Poe is able to transport himself across great distances and Snap has a form of telekinesis,” Kylo said hurriedly to distract himself.

“What about Hux?”

Kylo shot the scowling man a look that was almost sympathetic. “He is our dreamer. The things he sees are often prophetic.”

Rey turned to Baz. “This is incredible. I don’t think I’d have believed it if I hadn’t seen Kylo transform.”

“You’re certainly taking the news better than I did,” Baz laughed.

Rey frowned, turning back to Kylo. “Who are you fighting? You said you protect earth.”

“The denizens of Exegol are our enemies,” Hux growled from the door.

“They are not all evil,” Kylo said more cautiously, “but it is true many of their kind seek to live on earth’s surface and think nothing of taking human lives. It is against the Accords to make ourselves known to humanity. Their ruler agrees that an all-out war would be catastrophic.”

Her eyes had grown big in her head. “That’s a huge responsibility for you,” she whispered, and Kylo felt his hardened shell crack at the concern on her delicate face.

Finn gave a snorting laugh and Kylo grinned. He had to admit it was touching that this little chit of a girl was so anxious for him.

Rey flushed pink and drew back, making him sorry he’d shown his amusement.

“So there’s an alternate world to ours?” she asked, her sharp brain still working.

“Yes. There are portals between the worlds that are closely guarded by my men.”

“Where…?”

“That I cannot tell you,” Kylo cut her off.

She nodded, looking crestfallen. He wondered what she was thinking to appear thus. Was she so anxious to know more about the shadow realms? Most human minds could barely accept the idea of magical races.

“If there are so many creatures in… Naboo, is it?... then why do you all look human?”

“Thousands of years of inter-species breeding,” Finn said with a meaningful smile. “Though there are plenty of pure bloods roaming our lands.”

“So now you know,” Kylo snapped, standing up to draw the meeting to a close. He thought it wise not to overwhelm Rey with too many details and he also wanted Finn to stop leering at her in that way.

“What if I have other questions?” Rey asked.

“I’d be more than happy to answer your queries,” Finn purred, making Snap roll his eyes.

“I’ll ask Threepio to give you access to my library,” Kylo said abruptly, still not liking the idea of Rey alone with his best friend.

There was something unnatural about his behaviour when it came to Rey but Kylo decided he was too busy to examine his feelings.

The biggest problem that day was his transformation into the red dragon. His magical avatar was helpful in times of battle but it only ever appeared when called upon. And he had not called the beast.

Kylo feared he was losing control of his magic and the ramifications of that were unthinkable.


	4. Fall Apart

Kylo found himself circling the drain with his latest problem.

If his physical issues were causing the dragon to reveal its form without his consent, his dilemma was bigger than mere sexual frustration. At the very least, he needed to confide in someone about what was going on.

“Poe,” he beckoned to the other man.

Poe was the oldest amongst his personal guard. Unlike Finn, Snap and Hux, Kylo had not grown up with Poe. He was a northerner, a prince in his own right until a bloody goblin invasion killed his family. He’d not only lost his parents, the king and queen of Hoth, but also his beloved wife. It was rumoured she’d been heavily pregnant with child at the time.

Poe went on a rampage afterwards, single-handedly slaughtering the two hundred strong goblin horde. When he turned up at Kylo’s doorstep six months later, he was still black with the blood of his kills and nearly out of his mind with grief. He pledged himself that day to the Royal Guard.

There were some who mistrusted the Northerner. Poe’s people had long protested the legitimacy of Kylo’s throne, isolating themselves in the mountains, but Kylo could not deny the fanatical fire in the other man’s dark gaze, a desire to avenge his loved ones underwritten by a wealth of pain.

Over the decades, Poe proved himself a good soldier and while Finn was Kylo’s right hand man, Kylo found himself turning more and more to Poe for counsel. There was a gravity to his thoughts that Kylo appreciated as supreme leader.

“I have a problem,” Kylo began, as blunt as always. His eyes drifted to the couch where Baz and Rey sat curled up in conversation, his gaze unaccountably lingering on his fiancée’s foster sister.

“Sire?”

Kylo snapped his eyes back to Poe’s curious face. He motioned for the man to join him on a velvet divan and Poe perched on the edge of a seat.

“It has been over three weeks since I’ve been able to come.”

Poe blinked. “I don’t understand, my lord.”

“In bed. Sexually. I can’t achieve orgasm,” Kylo said impatiently, feeling a dull heat crawl up his neck. He was desperate enough to talk about it but that didn’t mean he wanted to linger on the details.

“Ah,” Poe said looking nonplussed. “Has this happened before?”

“Never,” Kylo almost snarled, pausing to reign in his temper. Poe had asked a fair question. “I’ve had my share of females over the years but I’ve never been… stuck.”

“And now?” Poe queried. “Is Bazine your only lover?”

“Yes,” Kylo said shortly. “I grew weary of meaningless assignations. Baz’s arrival in my life seemed fated. I have been faithful to her.”

“And she satisfies you?”

“Yes,” Kylo snapped. “She arouses me still, but then I cannot…”

“Finish,” Poe muttered.

The two men looked at each other for a while, neither one quite believing the topic of their conversation.

“There’s more,” Kylo said reluctantly.

Poe raised an eyebrow.

“After three weeks of this torture, I stopped attempting intercourse. Then last night I tried to… rouse myself.”

“How’d you go?” Poe asked matter-of-factly, reassuring Kylo that he’d chosen the right confidante.

“I felt numb from the waist down, like my manhood was made from cement.”

Poe huffed sympathetically.

Kylo steeled his spine to keep going. “Obviously this has taken a toll on me, mentally and emotionally. Baz doesn’t know,” he admitted, suddenly unsure why he hadn’t told the love of his life. “But the worst part of it is what happened today on the cliff. My dragon side showed itself without my consent.”

“I wondered at the time why you’d called on your avatar.”

“I didn’t.” Kylo gritted his teeth, his next few words harder to speak than his confession about his sexual complications. “I fear I’m losing control of my magic.”

“What triggered the beast?” Poe asked calmly.

Kylo fell back on this practical question with a feeling of reprieve. “Rey slipped off the edge of the cliff. I reacted to save her.”

Poe frowned consideringly. “So a stressful situation.”

Kylo shook his head. “Hardly stressful for men like us, Poe. I’ve faced entire armies with nothing more than a broken sword. I should be able to respond to an accident without turning red and scaly.”

“Is it the girl? Has she some special significance?” Poe asked, turning his head towards the two women.

Kylo glanced at them as well. Baz was talking animatedly while Rey nibbled on a lock of hair. He felt a tug deep in his gut as he considered the girl’s pink lips.

“Surely not,” Poe said, dismissing the idea much to Kylo’s relief. “You barely know her.”

“I’m close to climbing the walls,” Kylo groaned, rubbing his face with an open palm. “I’m not looking forward to consulting Druid Skywalker on this matter.”

Kylo’s relationship with the druidic race was frosty at best ever since he’d denied them a royal representative in his throne room, but they were the closest thing to a medical profession in their world.

Poe continued to frown, tapping his fingers on the velvet padded seat. Kylo left him to it. His head ached and he was happy for someone else to do the thinking for a while. When Poe next spoke, his question surprised Kylo.

“My lord, do you know why my lineage broke away from your family’s rule?”

“Strange time to be discussing loyalties, isn’t it?” Kylo protested.

“I think it’s pertinent,” Poe said. “We did it because we didn’t trust your family’s powers. While many of us bipeds were created through the union of Nabooan and human blood, your family’s power came from Exegol.”

“I know,” Kylo said shortly. “What’s your point?”

“If your issues have released the beast to roam as he may, perhaps your problem isn’t a physical one.”

Kylo sat up straight, thunderstruck by Poe’s theorising. “Are you saying I’m being attacked by dark magic?”

The other man shrugged. “Perhaps the whole point was to uncage the ruby dragon. There are many who would benefit from a rogue monarch.”

“Poe, you bloody genius,” Kylo said, hope rising in his chest.

But Poe remained sober. “You know who you must consult, Kylo.”

Kylo’s smile faltered. “By the fires of Mustafar,” he muttered, “I need an audience with Emperor Snoke.”

Poe’s expression told Kylo he had it in one.

The last time Kylo had spoken to the ruler of Exegol was fifty years ago over a dispute in trade routes. Snoke was a strange kind of monarch, three times Kylo’s age, seemingly somnolent yet careful to hold onto his power. He was mostly content to maintain the status quo but could not be underestimated. The Sith had proven to be a wicked adversary in time past.

Snoke didn’t try to control his more rebellious subjects, instead allowing Kylo and his guard to punish them for any infringements upon Naboo or earth. To Snoke’s mind, it was a perfect situation, one where he never needed to lift a finger.

“This can’t wait,” Kylo said, getting to his feet. “Will you be my second, Poe?”

“Of course, sire.”

Kylo drifted by the two ladies as he left the room, murmuring, “Duty calls,” to a distracted Baz, bending over and kissing her cheek.

Without thinking, he slid a hand over Rey’s head, stroking her hair. He saw her eyes go wide before she blushed and he exited quickly.

Kylo’s study was patterned after a gentleman’s lounge with black leather couches, mahogany furniture and deep burgundy walls. The most extraordinary thing in it was a roll top desk carved from volcanic rock, its curvatures revealing the iridescence of gleaming black stone, an heirloom from leader’s past.

Poe settled himself in an armchair as Kylo unlocked a modern safe. He retrieved a bag of simple undyed cotton, the cloth turned yellow with age.

Kylo sat on a couch across from Poe, opening the bag and tossing its contents onto the top of a gleaming coffee table. Seven rune stones began to glow as if lit from within, a soft, pulsing light highlighting letters engraved in the old language.

Kylo gathered the seven stones in one hand and their light intensified. He began a chant taught to him when he was still a lisping child. It was his birthright to wield the runes. The power inside these relics could destroy lesser beings.

He really should warn Bazine about the more combustible items in their home, he thought absently, except she had never shown any interest in learning more about the people and customs of Naboo. Not like Rey.

He shook his head, trying to focus. It wasn’t enough just to speak the words, he had to open the doors of his mind.

All of a sudden, the temperature dropped. It became cold enough in his study that Kylo and Poe’s breath could be seen condensing like smoke. He was nearly there. They heard the sound of a bell being rung, a pure tone that indicated a well-made bronze gong.

And then in the light of runes, like a projected image, Snoke’s head appeared. It was a serpentine face with eyes like vertical slits, barely anything of a nose and a paper thin mouth. His hairless head was the mottled ash brown of a forest floor, old and weathered to look upon, but Kylo could feel the power radiating off his counterpart even in the form of a shade.

Snoke spoke and it was not what Kylo expected to hear. “Took you long enough,” he said sibilantly.

Kylo’s carefully prepared speech dissolved on his lips. “Excuse me?”

The emperor’s tongue flickered out, tasting the air. “You have shown greater self-control than I credited you with, supreme leader.”

“You did this?” Kylo yelled, his dragon self rearing its bestial head, his eyes shimmering blood red.

“My lord!” Poe warned, leaning forward.

Snoke gave a soundless chuckle, his gleaming dark eyes mirthful. “I would be careful not to give way to temper, o great leader.”

Kylo gritted his teeth and held the monster at bay. “I demand an explanation, highness,” he snapped.

“Of course, my lord,” Snoke said with a mocking bow of his head. “Meet me in my throne room at midnight tonight. All will be revealed.”

Kylo gritted his teeth. Snoke was an exceptional enemy, cunning and learned. Exegol’s emperor always made sure he had the advantage. While Kylo could see no reason for the things done to him, he wondered what archaic law Snoke had found to support his actions.

“Fine,” he said shortly, barely civil. He reached out to bag the runes when Snoke spoke again.

“Oh, and Kylo…”

“What?”

“Bring the girl with you.”

Kylo’s heart sank like a stone. He asked the question even though he already knew the answer. “What girl?”

Snoke almost seemed to smile. “I believe her name is Rey.”


	5. Put Me Together

Rey lay in bed reading a book so heavy its edges left imprints on her skin. It was old and bound in leather, its pages made of oily parchment, the spiky writing done by hand. The title on its cover read _The Unabridged History of Naboo._ The stories within spanned thousands of years.

She should be asleep after her big day but she couldn’t help herself. She’d been introduced to another world and she wanted to know more.

Bazine excused herself once she realised Rey was headed for the library. Rey was instead met by Threepio who walked her through shelves so tall ladders were built to navigate them. The old man seemed delighted that someone was exploring the supreme leader’s treasure trove of literature.

Rey rifled through books as big as her torso and twice as thick, volumes covered in cracked leather and musty linen, tomes inlaid with gold and embossed with jewels, books in languages she didn’t recognise as well as rolls and rolls of parchment. Rey didn’t think she’d ever seen an honest to goodness scroll before this.

After nearly an hour wandering the shelves, she picked what she thought was the most logical choice to begin with and heaved the tome back to her bedroom. She’d been reading for a while now and couldn’t quite believe the things she’d come across.

The supreme leader of record was a warrior named Anakin who’d suffered greatly for his people. The Accords were drawn up between Anakin, Supreme Leader of Naboo and a Sith lord called Snoke, Emperor of Exegol. The covenant brought about a measure of peace, easing the worst of the violence at the time.

Rey paused her reading to consider the situation Bazine found herself in. Her foster sister was marrying the current supreme leader of Naboo. Did Baz even understand the weight on Kylo’s shoulders? But perhaps he preferred her that way- Baz was a beautiful, oblivious escape in the pressures of his life.

Rey recalled Kylo’s laughter when she’d voiced her concern for him and felt her cheeks burn once more. She was such an idiot expressing compassion for a man like him. She must have seemed like a mosquito sympathising with a rhinoceros. But then when he’d left the room Kylo had reached out to her, stroking her hair in the passing.

It was the first time he’d shown her any tenderness; a chaste touch that remained surprisingly intimate. She’d nearly turned into a puddle on the couch. Of course, it meant nothing to Kylo.

Rey saw a momentary flicker of awareness cross Baz’s beautiful face but then it was gone. For how could boring, flat-chested Rey be golden, curvaceous Baz’s rival for Kylo’s affections? There was no contest. Baz had already won.

Rey made an impatient sound. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just be happy for Bazine? She had to move on from her infatuation with Kylo.

Finn was proving to be a pleasant distraction. Maybe his friendship would help.

Rey had no delusions about Kylo’s best man. Finn was not relationship material- he practically had ‘big mistake’ tattooed on his forehead- but he might just keep her sane as Kylo and Baz’s wedding day loomed closer.

There was a sound of voices in the corridor and then a knocking on her door. Assuming it was Bazine, Rey jumped out of bed and pulled it open.

Kylo stood in her doorway looming large like a mountain, his jaw set hard and his amber eyes flashing. A step behind him was Poe. The dark haired soldier looked concerned.

“Sire, maybe we shouldn’t…” Poe was saying.

“Who the hell are you?” Kylo snarled, advancing on Rey.

“… jump to conclusions,” Poe finished with a sigh.

Rey scrambled backwards, stumbling over a cushioned footstool. Kylo grabbed her before she could fall and dropped her on a nearby couch as if touching her had scalded him.

“Are you his spy?” Kylo demanded, bending over Rey’s cowering figure.

She’d never seen him so angry. Rey licked dry lips and saw Kylo take note of her tongue’s movement. It seemed to irritate him even more.

She was so thrown she struggled to make sense of his words. “Wh-who’s spy?” she asked breathlessly.

“Snoke!” Kylo roared, loud enough that the chandelier above her bed tinkled.

Rey stared at the man who towered over her, wanting to touch him to make sure he was real and not some fevered dream. “Snoke?” she repeated slowly. “The—the Sith?”

“And how do you know that’s his title in the old language?” Kylo asked, shooting Poe a look.

Rey pointed at the book lying innocuously amongst her rumpled sheets.

Poe picked up the tome, glanced at its title and gave her an amused smile. “Are you studying for an exam, Rey?” He showed Kylo the book as she tried to order her words.

“I was curious,” she told them. “I wanted to know more about your world.”

“Why?” Kylo asked suspiciously.

Grateful she was wearing her old nightgown that covered her from neck to ankles in a froth of white fabric, Rey drew her knees up and wrapped thin arms around them. Her hair flowed down her back, her tanned skin turned ashen.

“It’s silly,” she whispered, wishing she could disappear into herself.

“Answer the question,” Kylo snapped, the sharpness of his tone like the edge of a whip.

She flinched. “You know some of my history,” she said to Kylo. “I’ve never belonged anywhere. I wondered if maybe there was a place for me amongst your people.”

Rey felt like a fool as she spoke the words. The man she loved would think she was a child—a needy, simple child.

Kylo’s expression changed, the anger draining out of his face. “Rey…”

She ached when he said her name but she couldn’t trust herself to speak.

“When was the first time you became aware of Exegol?” he asked more calmly.

“Today,” she replied. She hoped now that his temper had cooled he would believe her.

“And Naboo?”

“Today, Kylo,” she whispered. “Why would you think otherwise?”

But Kylo was frowning, considering the matter. “Did you know your parents?”

Rey stared at him. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

Against his better judgment, Kylo sat beside her on the couch, broad shoulders and chest hemming her in, blocking her view of Poe. He took her hand and brushed his mouth against small knuckles, making her stomach quiver and her breath shorten.

“Answer the question, baby.”

Rey nearly wept at the endearment though her conscience was calling her a traitor. This was Baz’s fiancé holding her hand.

It took her a while to answer. “My father was a construction worker killed in an accident on a job site. I never knew my mother. She abandoned me the day I was born.”

“What are you thinking, my lord?” Poe asked. “Could she have fae blood?”

Rey looked into Kylo’s glorious eyes, amber surrounded by a red glow. He merely shrugged at Poe’s question, his gaze focused on her soft mouth.

“There are ways of finding out,” Poe added.

“All of which would take too long,” Kylo responded, snapping out of his daze. “We go to Snoke tonight.” He leaned further forward and Rey bit back a whimper, surrounded as she was by his heat and scent. “There is something I need from you, Rey.”

She nodded eagerly and immediately wished she hadn’t when a lazy smile made Kylo’s sensual mouth twitch. God, she was easy.

“Tonight I meet with Emperor Snoke. I need you to come with me.”

“Why?” Rey asked in a small voice.

Kylo shook his head. “I wish I knew. He has requested your presence.”

“I- I suppose I could,” Rey replied. And then out of a guilty conscience she added, “Will Baz be there?”

Kylo drew back, his expression losing all warmth. “You cannot tell Bazine about any of this.”

“Why not?” Rey asked in confusion.

“You can’t tell anyone. Only we three will know.”

“But Baz…”

“Baz has no idea about the things that have been going on,” Kylo interrupted.

“Then explain it to me,” Rey snapped, unsure where she found the courage to raise her voice. She saw Poe smother a grin.

Kylo arched a brow but capitulated. “I’ve been sick and it’s only getting worse. I hope to find answers from Snoke.”

“Oh,” Rey said, concern for him washing over her like a wave. “Is it bad?” she asked, laying a trembling hand on his.

He said nothing, increasing her agitation. Rey would follow Kylo to the ends of the earth if it meant she could help him. She would do anything for him.

 _Including betray your foster sister?_ her inner voice asked snidely. But was it a betrayal if it would save Baz the agony of a sick husband?

“Rey will need a dress,” Kylo said to Poe. “Some forms must be observed and we cannot have her appearing in human clothes. If Snoke chooses to be offended it’ll put us on the back foot.”

“I have something that might work,” Poe replied reluctantly. He glanced at an ornate clock on the dresser and Rey followed his gaze. Midnight was fast approaching. “I’ll fetch it now, sire.”

Poe vanished in a puff of black smoke and Rey jumped, startled.

Kylo smirked. “Poe can teleport,” he reminded her. “It makes one an efficient killer when the enemy can’t see you coming.”

Rey nodded, so befuddled upon finding herself alone in her bedroom with Kylo, the object of her nightly lustful fantasies, that she paid scant attention to Poe’s magic.

She was debating whether to begin a conversation to fill the silence when Kylo sat across from her in an armchair, his amber gaze taking her measure. His next statement removed all polite thoughts from her mind. “I’ve been enjoying the view, Rey, but perhaps I should tell you I can see right through the fabric of your pretty nightgown. Your nipples are quite pink.”

With a low cry, Rey glanced down at herself and realised he was right. Dazzling chandelier lights had her form lit in such a way that her taut breasts were revealed in mouth-watering detail. She darted across the room and pulled on a robe with shaking hands, blushing scarlet as Kylo’s husky laughter filled the space.

“You are diabolical,” she said, both embarrassed and angry. Why did she keep making a fool of herself in front of this man?

He gave her an impish grin that lessened when he saw how upset she was. “Don’t worry about it, baby,” he soothed, the endearment making her twitch. “Come tell me what you’ve learned about Nabooan history.”

Rey allowed Kylo’s sheer masculine energy to lead her back to the couch. She glared at him from her seat but he said nothing, proving he could be patient.

Grudgingly, she acquiesced. “I’ve been reading about Anakin, your ancestor, and the creation of the Accords,” she said, deciding on a safe topic. Surely nothing was more boring than ancient history.

Kylo nodded. “That was a day of great rejoicing amongst my people, and even in some parts of Exegol. It brought much needed peace across the land.”

“You speak about the Accords as if you were there,” Rey frowned. “It was over five hundred years ago.”

He considered her a moment. “Anakin was not merely my ancestor, Rey,” Kylo spoke softly. “He was my grandfather.”

Her jaw dropped open, her mind racing. “But… how old does that make you?”

“I have lived for more than seven centuries,” Kylo replied, studying her reaction curiously.

“All that time… is Baz really your first wife?”

Kylo didn’t answer, a strange expression crossing his handsome face. It was as if he was seeing something he hadn’t noticed before. “You don’t trust me,” he said plainly.

Rey grew flustered at his sharp comment. She was usually the one dissecting and picking apart others. The fact that Kylo had the same tendency was disconcerting.

Except with him it was more likely a sign of wisdom accumulated throughout the ages, rather than a neurotic need to categorise and render everything knowable and therefore safe. That was just her.

“I don’t _not_ trust you,” Rey hedged making Kylo laugh. For a man who’d been certain she was some kind of underworld spy not ten minutes ago, his mood had certainly turned.

It was her, wasn’t it? He was marvelling at her naiveté. Baz had always been the worldlier one despite her Barbie doll aesthetics.

“Baz is the first woman I have sought to marry,” Kylo said, making her stomach twist.

“But surely not the first one you’ve been with in a meaningful way.” Rey cringed, hearing the acidic tone of her own voice. What was she doing? This was not a court of law and she wasn’t cross examining a witness.

Kylo was unmoved by her question. “Of course not,” he agreed.

That hurt—the idea that there was a line of gorgeous women with whom he’d dallied at various points in his virile and extended life. And suddenly Rey knew her questions weren’t to protect Baz but herself.

 _Look at this man,_ she thought. _He will never be yours._

Rey told herself to keep Baz in the conversation as a shield from Kylo, big and broad and beautiful, when something else occurred to her inquisitive mind. “Will Baz have an extended life span after she’s married you?”

He grinned. “Clever girl,” he murmured, and she glowed at his praise. “I had to explain the concept to Baz. My people are not immortal, far from it. We are hard to kill but fallible nonetheless. An average Nabooan life span is roughly ten thousand years. Baz’s years will be prolonged due to her exposure to my DNA.”

Rey blinked. “What does that mean? Am I absorbing genetic material by being in the same room as you?”

His smile broadened. “Rather more direct contact is required, baby.” She stared at him interrogatively and he went on, “Kissing, sex, other such exchanges of fluid.”

Rey experienced what could only be described as a full body flush, her face turning red to the roots of her hair. Kylo threw back his head and howled with laughter, completing her humiliation.

She needed to keep her damn mouth shut, that’s what she needed to do. She didn’t know anyone else who could put foot in mouth quite so expertly.

When Kylo finally stopped laughing, he slouched down on the armchair and draped his long legs over the side like a schoolboy. “I needed that, Rey. Thank you.” He peered at her with a face so mischievous she let out a reluctant chuckle.

“You’re welcome, I think.”

They sat in companionable silence for a minute before Rey’s mind raised another question, one that had been bothering her since Kylo appeared at her bedroom door.

“Kylo?”

“Yes, baby?” He sounded a little sleepy and she realised he’d closed his eyes. And there was that pet name again, as if theirs was a relationship far more intimate than the last week had shown.

“Why isn’t Baz here?”

He said nothing, but she saw his relaxed posture stiffen.

Rey bit her lower lip, grateful his eyes were still shut since it gave her the courage to keep going. “Shouldn’t the woman you’re about to marry be told you’re sick?”

Kylo was saved from answering by Poe’s return, the dark haired man reappearing as silently as he’d disappeared, curls of smoke dissipating from his body.

Kylo stood at once, looking in surprise at the garment bag draped over Poe’s arms. Rey supposed the Royal Guard were many things but purveyors of women’s clothing was not one of them.

“How…” Kylo began.

“It belonged to my wife,” Poe replied and understanding flooded Kylo’s face.

“I hope she doesn’t mind,” Rey said, trying to comprehend the exchange.

Poe handed her the bag with a pained expression. “She is dead, my lady.”

“Oh,” Rey gasped, her eyes going wide. She’d done it again. “I—I’m so sorry, Poe. I didn’t know…”

“We have fifteen minutes,” Kylo snapped, interrupting her babbling. “Get dressed quickly. Nothing metallic can be on you—no watches or jewellery. Not even hair pins, you understand, Rey? We are crossing into Exegol and metals are expressly forbidden.”

“Why?” Rey asked with irrepressible curiosity.

Kylo all but rolled his eyes. “It’s a way to ensure weapons are not brought accidentally or on purpose into the court of the Sith. Now stop asking questions and get on with it.”

The two men exited her room and Rey was left feeling as scared as she was excited.

All her life she’d wondered what it would be like to live a life of adventure, to let go of her carefully ordered existence. Tonight, she would finally find out.


	6. A Price Too High

“I’m giving her one more minute,” Kylo growled, straightening the gold trimmed black leather vest he’d buttoned over a fresh white silk shirt. He still wore his standard black leather pants and his boots had seen more than one battle, but he was as dressed up as he was ever going to be.

Poe, who’d been looking uneasy since handing over his wife’s dress, gave a weak smile. “I’m sure she’s almost…” he began but was interrupted by the opening of a door. He choked on the rest of his words.

Kylo bit back an oath. Rey looked devastating.

Her chestnut red hair fell in perfect little waves to her elbows in deference to his ‘no pins’ rule, her bee-stung lips glossy with balm he’d previously noted smelled like warm apple pie, her hazel eyes as bright as stars in anticipation of what was to come.

The dress she’d been given was deceptively simple, made of stretchable red lace flowers. It wrapped around her throat, the sleeves covering her arms to the wrists, the skirt pooling at her feet. It would have been entirely modest except the fabric was quite sheer.

Red lace moulded to small, firm breasts and a flat stomach, snug around her tiny waist and rounded hips, hugging the curve of pert buttocks and narrowing at her ankles. That red lace had no underlay so while Rey was covered from the neck down, tanned skin was exposed in delectable patches. Strategically placed red lace flowers hid the buds of her nipples and the junction of her thighs, but it remained an outrageous outfit.

Rey looked at Kylo for his approval. “Is this—do I look okay?” He said nothing and her face fell. She turned to Poe next, causing Kylo to bite back a growl of irritation. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do your wife’s dress justice,” she said in a small voice. “It’s meant for someone far prettier than me.”

“Rey,” Poe said, his voice a husk of its former self, his eyes shining with tears, “you do her memory honour.”

Poe bowed low and Kylo saw Rey lose her expression of pinched unhappiness. It angered him that he was not the one who’d soothed her. All she’d wanted was a reassuring word but he found himself unable to give it.

“Let’s go,” he snapped.

Rey nodded though he could see she was disappointed by his abruptness.

But what could he say? That his manhood, as sluggish as a river of mud this last week, had suddenly awoken at the sight of Rey in the most erotic red lace he’d ever come across. And that was saying something considering Bazine’s penchant for adventurous lingerie.

Unacceptable. Not least that it was his bride’s foster sister raising such feelings inside him.

Time to see Snoke. The sooner he got to the bottom of his problem, the quicker he’d be able to return to Baz’s side.

Kylo led Rey and Poe back to his study. The other man would stay behind and raise the alarm if they took too long returning from the Sith’s court. Kylo was leaving nothing to chance.

He retrieved the rune stones once more and noticed Rey watching him closely. This time he knelt on the carpeted ground, scattering the stones around him in a rough circle. The chant he began hadn’t been uttered in years.

It was a supreme leader’s prerogative to create a direct path that would allow him to visit his counterpart in Exegol. As he'd explained briefly to Rey, physical portals existed across earth's landscape and the shadow realms. These magical doorways were used by ordinary fae.

As the spell neared its finish, Kylo beckoned to Rey. She went to his side, radiating nervous energy. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him, feeling the warmth of bare flesh through the lace garment, hearing the quick intake of her breath. Her silken hair tickled his hand as he raised it in one final command.

Unlike Poe’s near soundless teleportation, there was a loud bang and a sudden smell of decaying things. Rey gripped Kylo’s arm with small fingers as the air before them tore like a sheet of paper, revealing a pulsing green opening.

“Come,” he said, firm but gentle, half dragging Rey towards the portal since her feet did not seem to want to move. Her only response was to tighten her hold on his biceps.

They stepped through the gateway together. Kylo experienced a familiar, nauseous tug in his gut, and as quick as that they had arrived.

Gone was the wood and leather interior of his office, instead they were surrounded by walls of grey rock, shiny with luminous green slime. The temperature had increased several degrees and the atmosphere was so moist it was like breathing through a wet towel.

Kylo glanced at Rey. She looked a little queasy but was determinedly gulping the air, trying to calm her stomach.

“Rey?” She looked at him dazedly. “Are you alright?”

She nodded unconvincingly but Kylo couldn’t do anything for her anyway. The fact that she wasn’t vomiting up dinner told him his suspicions were correct—Rey must have fae blood in her. Some of his Royal Guard coped less well with this mode of transport than she did. The little female was surprisingly hardy.

They walked down the rock corridor and Kylo kept his arm around Rey. She was trembling and he told himself she needed the support, never mind the soft, lush body pressed against his side.

An underground river revealed itself in a gush of cold, clear water and Kylo finally withdrew his hand from the girl. “Step where I step,” he said, but she shook her head.

“I’ll fall.”

Kylo looked down as Rey lifted her skirt and revealed bare feet. “Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” he asked in surprise.

“You said no metals,” she replied in embarrassment. “All my shoes have buckles, and I couldn’t wear sneakers with this dress.”

Kylo swore under his breath before picking her up. He threw Rey unceremoniously over one broad shoulder, placing his big hand on her pert bottom to hold her in place. She squealed as he nimbly crossed the river, stepping across a smattering of jagged rocks, only setting her down once they were on the other side.

“Thank you,” Rey said stiffly, her face beet red.

Kylo grinned at her. “It’s a good thing you weigh nothing.”

She didn’t reply, giving him an anguished glare.

He fought the unexpected urge to tease her some more, sliding an arm around her waist. “Come on, baby. Not far now.”

In another minute, they exited the narrow passageway.

“Ah, here you are,” a hissing voice called.

They had emerged in the royal throne room of Exegol’s emperor. The cavernous route landed them practically on top of the dais where Snoke sat lounging. Rey shuddered to see his throne was made of a hundred thousand cracked and yellowing skulls.

The only difference between this room and the passageway through which they’d travelled was size. Everything was still coated with green goo, the air as thick and steamy as a bathhouse, but the rock walls towered a clear mile above their heads, the space big enough to hold a vast gathering.

Kylo stood before the throne, finally letting go of Rey. She took a shaky step away from him and he fought every instinct to scoop her back into his arms.

“Your majesty,” Kylo said, his voice tight and his expression guarded.

“Your majesty,” Snoke replied, a malicious taunt injected into his whispery tone.

Kylo saw they were alone in the throne room. The Sith’s many fawning acolytes had been sent away. Snoke had no need for bodyguards—he was lethal in his own right.

The creature king stood up and Rey make a tiny, choked sound. Snoke was impressive to look upon, nearly ten feet in height and twice as broad as a normal man, though lean and sinewy like a vine. His skin was a mottled greyish brown, his large, lidless eyes an unblinking yellow, his hairless head shaped into a high, smooth dome.

He wore robes of thinnest silk but Kylo knew this was only out of courtesy to him. Normally the Sith roamed his courts without a stitch on.

“She is beautiful,” Snoke murmured, stopping in front of a quaking Rey. “Your self-control is masterful, Kylo.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kylo snapped, losing his temper as his manhood, so long denied, began to throb with grinding heat. “She’s not my betrothed, Snoke. Why would I bed her?”

Rey’s gaze, which had been centred on the emperor of Exegol, jerked back to Kylo’s face.

Snoke schooled his serpentine features into an expression of uncanny innocence. “Why, because she is your panacea, Kylo. I chose the girl as your chalice.”

“What,” Kylo grunted, “are you talking about?”

Snoke sighed, returning to the dais and dropping onto his ghoulish throne with liquid grace. “You are young still, Kylo. You have forgotten the old ways.”

“I grow impatient, Snoke. Explain yourself.”

“Careful, Kylo,” the Sith ruler hissed. “It is you who is in the wrong.”

Kylo blinked at this unexpected statement. “What injury have I caused you, Emperor of Exegol?”

“A hundred and twenty-three years ago, you and your men stepped past the boundaries of Naboo into my land. You slaughtered an Orcan battalion that day.”

Kylo frowned, reaching back into his exceptional memory. “I remember. Only a few Orcs were put down on Exegol soil. Most were eliminated on Nabooan land. They destroyed three villages before we ended their killing spree.”

“Oh, I do not doubt the Orcs needed to be punished,” Snoke cooed, spreading stick thin fingers to reveal the translucent webbing between them. “I have no issue with your incursion into my borders, Kylo, not when you were doing righteous work. My problem is that during this skirmish a fire began in Deepshadows. The gaseous atmosphere was lit up by Nabooan flame. It was spawning season and a clutch of my young was situated in the waters of the swamp. They died.”

Rey let out a gasp of horror and clapped a hand over her mouth. Snoke gave her a sticky smile. “They were eggs, sweetling,” he murmured, “but the loss remains egregious.”

Kylo experienced a sinking feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. “Snoke, I am sorry,” he said sincerely. “Of course, I must provide atonement.”

“It has already begun,” Snoke responded, as cool as his body’s temperature.

“My… issue,” Kylo said in stunned realisation.

The Sith nodded. “I lost a thousand potential spawn that day, Kylo. That is what I’m owed.” Snoke gave an unctuous smile. “Do not worry—I would not be so cruel as to torment you for as long as it would take a Nabooan woman to have a thousand children. In my mercy I have picked a modest figure for you to serve your penance.”

“How long?” Kylo asked, his voice hoarse.

“A hundred years.”

 _“A hundred years?”_ Kylo nearly shouted, controlling himself just in time.

Snoke was entitled to reparations and he was exacting it in a justifiable manner. Their people took an eye for an eye quite literally. Kylo had wiped out a generation of younglings by his actions and Snoke in turn would prevent Kylo from effectively seeding a woman for a hundred years.

He pushed past his horror of Snoke’s judgment to demand more information. “You called Rey my chalice,” he said numbly.

The Emperor of Exegol made an amused noise. “I am not a sadist, Kylo. You must be able to achieve sexual culmination with at least one lover.”

Again, Kylo felt Rey’s eyes burning a hole in his back.

“Imagine my surprise when I found a girl with shadowed blood under your own roof. She had a human father but a Succubus for a mother. As you know, this made Kira one of my court. I am able to manipulate her daughter’s blood and have rendered her infertile for the next hundred years, during which time you may use her to slake your lust without breaking penance.”

Rey let out a sound that was part moan and part sob. She’d turned as pale as parchment, hands clenched by her side.

Kylo was pulled out of his own wretched circumstances long enough to pity the girl beside him. Was this why he couldn’t banish Rey from his mind—he’d been drawn to the only female who could satisfy him?

“Emperor Snoke, Rey is a guest in my home. I would ask that you reconsider your choice of chalice.”

A strange expression crossed Rey’s face and Kylo wondered what she was thinking.

Snoke shook his head. “The magics are binding, Kylo. I couldn’t change my mind even if I wanted to.”

He scowled but nodded, knowing the Sith spoke the truth. There was a long silence as Kylo considered his situation.

“It’s not so bad,” Snoke murmured, reading his mind. “You are free to rule and fight as you always have. Not much will change. But when it comes time for you to rut, only one female will satisfy.”

“I suppose your timing in the matter was purely coincidental,” Kylo said coldly.

“Whatever do you mean?” Snoke purred.

Kylo glowered. “You know I’m to be married in a few weeks.”

“There are ways around that,” Snoke smirked. “If your beloved is amenable perhaps you could organise a nightly ménage a trois?”

Rey drew back at this comment, her face distressed. Kylo held out a hand to her but she avoided his touch.

He couldn’t blame her, he supposed. She’d just been relegated to the role of mistress.

“And if I sleep with Rey, will I regain control of the dragon?” he asked bluntly, wanting to end his audience with Snoke as quickly as possible.

Snoke’s malicious face grew still. “When did you lose control of the ruby beast?”

Kylo didn’t reply, hearing eagerness under the Sith’s cool question. Snoke knew nothing of his avatar’s growing independence.

“I beg your leave, your majesty,” Kylo said, inclining his head.

Snoke’s thin hands tensed but he returned the nod. “I hope you know your penance brings me no pleasure, Kylo,” he said by way of farewell.

“Sure,” the other man muttered, indicating to Rey that they should go.

To Kylo’s surprise, she did not move. “Please,” she said, her voice sounding soft and vulnerable in the steaming cavern, “may I ask the emperor a question?”

Kylo bit back a sigh, wondering if she was about to plead with Snoke for freedom from the magical binding. Had she sought his opinion, he would have told her to save her breath.

“Of course, sssweetling,” Snoke hissed.

“Is my mother still alive?”

Kylo stared at Rey’s strained expression and cursed himself for his insensitivity. The young woman had just heard the truth about her parentage. Her world must be tilting on its axis.

Snoke shifted on his throne and when he spoke his tone was oddly gentle. “Do not take your mother’s actions personally, Rey daughter of Kira. Succubi are notoriously unmaternal. They are selfish creatures, intent on fulfilling their own lusts. Nurture plays no part in their genetic code. Kira abandoned her other children as well.”

“Others?” Rey asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes,” Snoke replied. “Succubi can only produce female offspring and Kira had six. She was well known in her nest for her fondness for human males.”

“I have five sisters?” Rey asked, stunned.

“If you want to look at it that way,” Snoke smirked. “Your mother, unfortunately, has gone into legend. She tangled with a Belroc a few cycles ago and her life force was extinguished. Sad, really. Kira was quite the spitfire.”

Rey flushed at the look of carnal appreciation on Snoke’s face. She turned to Kylo in sudden desperation, overwhelmed by this new information.

“Can we go? Please?”

He nodded.

Kylo Ren did not know who was worse off in this situation—he who was bound to a woman he did not love or the girl shivering in his arms, just as trapped as him.


	7. Against The Wall

As often was the case, the return journey was easier. Poe’s handsome face showed relief as Rey and Kylo reappeared in his home office.

Rey sank into a chair in numb silence while Kylo filled in his royal guard about everything Snoke had said, leaving out Rey’s personal inquiry about her bloodline. She sat with wet feet tucked under her as the supreme leader and his warrior debated the situation, staring blankly down at her hands.

Kylo glanced at Rey frequently but she did not move, not until he came to his final decision.

“I have to tell Bazine,” he said at last, having confirmed with Poe that his situation was unalterable.

“Why?” she gasped, her face stricken. It was the first time she’d spoken.

Kylo glanced at Poe and the other man left the study with a brief bow.

Once they were alone, Kylo approached Rey. “You’re shivering,” he said, looking more closely at her. He suspected she was in shock.

Kylo picked up the girl and took her place on the deep leather armchair, settling her on his lap. She squirmed at first but he gripped her hips and held her still, his aching manhood responding to the rub of her soft bottom.

“Stop twitching, Rey,” he said, his voice harsh.

She looked at him and a hot blush scalded her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice small.

He held her close, her head on his shoulder and her little hands between his big paws, rubbing warmth into cold skin.

“No, I’m sorry,” Kylo sighed. “Sorry you’re tangled in my mess.”

Rey huffed into his neck, her breath sweet like honeysuckle. “I know. I’ve been listening,” she murmured, referring to his conversation with Poe. “To be clear,” she said from her place tucked against his chest, “you haven’t had an orgasm in nearly a month and you won’t achieve one unless it’s with me.”

He uttered a small groan. “That about sums it up.”

“Baz will think we’re insane,” she muttered.

Kylo considered Rey’s response. “We?” he repeated. “So you’ll do this for me? You’ll be my chalice?”

She lifted her head, looking at him with sad hazel eyes. “Do I have a choice?”

“You could deny me,” he said, as difficult as it was to vocalise a rejection.

She chewed her lower lip and he nearly kissed her. “No, I couldn’t.”

There was a brief silence as Kylo processed the wealth of emotion beneath Rey’s simple declaration, but he hesitated to look deeper.

“What does this mean, Kylo? What do we do now?”

His arms drew her even closer, his lips pressed to her forehead. “I’ll look after you, baby, I swear it. You’ll have everything you want—clothes, shoes, cars, jewellery. I’d prefer if you stayed here in the mansion close to me, but if you want your own place I’ll buy you a penthouse overlooking the ocean.”

“And we… we’ll have sex. You and I. Together,” she said, big eyes grown bigger.

Kylo felt his body respond to her words, already desperate to sink into the relief she promised. “Yes,” he growled, cupping her face in his hands. And he kissed her.

The kiss was hot and sweet, his tongue tangling with hers, their mutual passion undeniable. Rey whimpered, rubbing lush breasts in their lace wrapping against his hard chest, and Kylo broke the embrace with an oath.

He was ready to rip the gown off her body, bend her over the chair and slide his throbbing cock inside her wet velvet clutch. One pump and he knew he’d be there, shuddering as his body peaked and released.

“No!” he shouted, making Rey scramble off his lap. She tumbled to the floor and he held her there before she could scoot away. “I’m sorry,” he gasped. “I didn’t mean… We have to do this right.”

“Bazine,” Rey said, resting her forehead against his knee. “You’re thinking about poor, poor Baz.”

Kylo stroked her hair, a strange expression on his face. “Have you reserved no pity for yourself, baby? Bound to me for longer than a human lifetime?”

“I have everything Baz wants,” Rey said brokenly. “To pity myself seems selfish. How will I face her?”

“We must,” Kylo sighed. “A one-night stand may be hidden, but a hundred year affair will take its toll on all of us.”

“And what about you, Kylo?” Rey asked, lips quivering. “Can you face all that time with me in your bed? You didn’t choose me for your lover.”

Kylo couldn’t find the words to respond to her question. The truth was he’d wanted to be with Rey since the day they first met, but to confess such a thing was a betrayal of his love for Baz.

Surely his desire for Rey was a result of the magical binding borne from his act of penance. Of course it was. Anything else would cause complete confusion.

_“How come_ you’re _the chosen one?”_

Rey burst into her bedroom and threw herself upon the blue silk couch with Baz’s question still ringing in her ears. She buried her face in her hands as she cried.

She was so sick of crying.

There are some words that can never be taken back or forgotten, and Kylo had spoken so many of them to her foster sister just minutes ago. Baz’s broken heart was there on her face for all to see.

And while it was Kylo’s act of contrition that had brought it about, a magical judgment he must serve, Rey felt equally culpable. Because from the moment she’d heard Kylo would make love to her, she’d been damn near floating with joy.

She was an awful, horrible person, so in love with her foster sister’s fiancé that she was looking forward to having sex with him, even though she wasn’t Kylo’s choice and despite the fact it would hurt Baz.

Rey wiped away her tears and stared at her hands, the nails bitten down to the quick. She hadn’t chewed her fingernails since she was twelve years old. She needed to get a hold of herself.

She took a long, hot shower and changed into sleepwear, a nightie that looked like an oversized navy blue t-shirt with shimmering silver stars scattered across the sinfully soft cotton. She couldn’t put on her white lace negligée without recalling Kylo’s comments on the pinkness of her nipples.

The junction of her thighs clenched and moistened, and Rey shut her eyes in reaction. She took deep breaths until her skin cooled once more. No more thoughts of Kylo. If she wanted to preserve her sanity she had to stop mooning over the man.

She hadn’t eaten dinner but Rey wasn’t hungry. Her mind was filled with a million what-ifs.

What if Baz couldn’t forgive her? What if Kylo grew to detest his reliance on her? What if he already hated her but was hiding it under a cloak of kindness and desperation? What if she was never happy again, forced to serve the whims of a man she wished would love her but belonged to someone else? What if it all drove her mad?

Rey forcibly pushed away her jumbled thoughts and instead reached for the big book of Nabooan history lying on a spindly legged table. She settled herself on the lounge, snuggling under a blanket. The huge tome had an index and she looked up Succubi. That would keep her distracted.

Time ticked by as she read about her mother’s people. She felt her cheeks burn more than once as she discovered tales of seductresses and cuckolds, illegitimate children and broken, abused men. Truly, last night had brought her nothing good, except the knowledge she had siblings.

Five sisters! What could she do to find them?

There was a knock on her door and Rey set the book aside with a soft sigh. Her eyes were fuzzy with exhaustion.

“Who is it?” she called, already reaching for her robe.

“Kylo.”

Rey felt her heart skip a beat. She touched the locked door, unable to help herself. She yearned for him.

“Does Baz know you’re here?” she asked timidly.

“No.” His answer was brief.

Rey very nearly smiled. She would never have to fear deceit from this man. He was honest to an abrasive fault and she loved that about him.

She loved him. Oh, God help her.

“Kylo, you said you didn’t want to… not until Baz…” Rey trailed off, unable to find the words.

“She knows now,” he said, his voice hard. “Neither one of us expected the news would go down well, but at least she knows. Open up, baby.”

“Are you sure?” Rey hedged, wanting to obey but almost sick with guilt. “Won’t you regret this tomorrow?”

There was a short, aching silence. “Rey… please, sweetheart. I need you.”

And she turned the key as quick as a blink because Kylo would always be her weakness, her vice, her addiction. She was his to command, and she suspected he already knew.

He looked handsomer than ever, his shirt hanging open and framing a broad, smooth chest, his leather britches unbuttoned and sliding off narrow hips, his hair a tousled mess, his eyes more ruby than amber.

“You look like a nymph with your hair down,” he said, making her heart twist like a bird on a wire.

She blushed pink, touching the glossy waves that swirled to her elbows. She wore no makeup and still smelled of lavender from her shower.

“How are you?” she asked as he pushed his way past her into the bedroom, one hand wrapping around her waist and bringing her with him.

“I’m about ready to implode,” he admitted, sliding a big hand into her hair and using that grip to bring her mouth to his.

The kiss was all-consuming but tender, reducing Rey to a pile of quivering limbs. She leant against his thickly muscled frame for support. He was such a big man and she a skinny twig of a girl. He might kill her if he made love to her.

At least that would solve her problem of how to face Baz in the morning.

He ended the embrace way too quickly for her liking.

"Can we do more?" Kylo asked in a low voice.

Rey stared at his mouth and thought of all the choices he no longer had, the punishment that had brought him to this point. He was desperate for her because of a magical force. It wasn’t right.

And then there was her. Despite it all, she wanted to be with this man. It didn't make sense and their connection wasn’t healthy, but that didn't seem to matter right now.

"Yes, please," she said tremulously.

His liquid amber gaze dropped to her pink lips. "You know what I want?"

That voice of his was as dark as the inside of a well, making her thighs damp.

"What?" she breathed.

His big hands grasped her by the waist, pulling her so close her breasts brushed against his chest. “Speak properly, Rey. A good girl would use my name.”

He heard her intake of breath, sharp and unsteady. “I—I’m sorry. What did I do wrong?”

“Ask me, baby. Say, ‘What do you want, Kylo?’”

Rey came close to orgasming where she stood, in her cotton nightie with her eyes as big as saucers. She licked her lips and he watched the moist pink tip. “What—what do you want, Kylo?”

"I want to see you undone."

She looked at him in mute appeal.

“Say, ‘What is that like, Kylo?’” he instructed.

"What... what is that like, Kylo?" She was close to hyperventilating.

He brushed a finger down her cheek. "You'll be pink and warm." His touch went over to her lips. "Your mouth bruised from all my kisses." He went lower with that soft stroke, going down over her throat. "Your pulse will be erratic, pounding." He stopped between her breasts. "Your nipples will be hard, and there will be other signs you're ready for me." He leaned into her ear and whispered, "Are you ready for me, Rey?"

Rey made a sound that was entirely involuntary. Raw and needy.

She was unable to draw a breath she was so aroused, the dizzying sensation of suffocation making the gush of slick she felt between her thighs even more shocking.

"Rey, answer me." Kylo nuzzled her neck, running his tongue in a wet strip along delicate bones.

“Y-yes, Kylo,” she panted.

It had been so long... forever... since she'd been held by anyone. Since she'd been something other than a poor little orphan girl made good, a worker bee in corporate America. She’d been happy with that role. How could she have been happy with so little? This man… was he a man?... was showing her so much more.

He led her to the bed, sinking his nose in her hair. She was clean and fresh, somehow purer than any woman he’d been with before.

Kylo paused, an unfamiliar spike of conscience reining him in. He was a creature of dark magic, a ruler of realms. He was used to taking and having and possessing. He had to make sure this moment was as much about Rey as it was for him. He didn’t want to use her as if she were a whore. She was more than a remedy.

He knew now that he cared for her. Despite Baz, he’d begun to have feelings for Rey. Of all the reasons there were not to enter into a physical relationship with this young woman, that was the biggest one of all.

"What is it?" she asked, sensing his hesitation, always so sensitive to his needs.

With force of will he compartmentalized himself, putting Baz, the wedding, the vicious life he led and the dangerous realities he faced away, locking them out and shutting them down.

It was just the two of them now.

"I may not be able to stop once we begin," he warned, though his intention was to go slow. To be sweet and kind.

Kylo remembered his first time, how every kiss was a revelation. He pulled Rey into his arms and kissed her once more. She was so hesitant, not at all used to the action. How naïve was this girl?

He picked her up and carried her to the couch.

“Kylo?” She watched him with nervous eyes.

He settled back, securing her on his lap. “Let’s make you feel good, sweetheart.”

Their kisses began gentle and tender, warm and exploratory. He let Rey take the lead, feeling her grow in confidence, the stroke of her tongue becoming a delightful plunge, hesitation turning into impatience. She pressed up against him, her hands sliding around his neck, her fingers finding the black hair at the nape of his neck.

A shudder of need went through Kylo’s body, so poignant it made his pulse skitter like marbles scattered across a floor. He’d never been so aroused in all his life. Rey lifted her body, straddling his thighs. Their kissing had transformed into something carnal with plenty of tongue and teeth and moisture. Her fingertips raked pleasurably across his firm chest, his hands rubbing circles on her back.

Her thumb found the hardened nub of his right nipple and he grunted, damn near losing control. He stood, taking her with him, laying her out on her bed.

As he pulled back to look at her, he realised anew Rey wasn't anything like the females he'd been with before this. She didn't stretch and part her legs, didn't arch up and do some variant of come-and-get-me-big-boy. She was shy, uncertain… staring up at him with wonder and honest anticipation, a female without pretence.

Kylo realised he’d just compared Bazine unfavourably to Rey and pushed away the troubling thought.

He slipped off his shirt and britches, kicking off his boots. Rey… well, Rey was looking at him like he was some kind of god, his body the temple where she wanted to worship. It was humbling. Kylo felt strangely self-conscious, he who’d honed himself into a weapon for his people was suddenly very aware of each and every scar he bore.

Rey pulled him closer, her fingers tracing the thin scar that ran from his forehead down his face and neck, ending at his collar bone. “What happened here?” she asked.

Kylo hesitated. It was not a story he told many people, but Rey was watching him with such love and longing. She was safe, his inner beast whispered. A safe place.

At last.

“Before I was supreme leader, a dark power infested Naboo. It was evil magic like we’d never seen before. My grandfather…”

“Anakin?”

He smiled and nodded, the thought of her reading his family history in bed strangely touching. “Anakin was possessed. Some say seduced by the dark side. He went mad and killed my parents. I had to put him down.”

“Oh, Kylo… I’m so sorry.”

He shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”

“The man with the red sword,” Rey whispered, recalling the enormous portrait behind the central staircase. “I thought the painting was a conceit about some long lost relative who was in the military, but that was Anakin.”

Kylo smiled grimly. “His burning red sword did plenty of damage in its time. I never thought my grandfather would turn it against me.”

Rey said nothing, her hazel eyes nearly pure green in her delicate face. Kylo wondered what she was thinking. He realised he cared what she thought about him. About his body. About what was going to happen on this bed.

Everything hinged on what Rey did next.


	8. Don't Stop Loving Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the tags- this chapter mentions past child abuse.

Rey ran her hands up Kylo’s arms and over his shoulders. "Kiss me." Her sweet demand intruded on his confusion of thoughts.

Kylo locked eyes with her and did just that, bringing his lips to hers, extending his tongue and licking over her mouth. He kept kissing her until she undulated on the bed, closing her hands on him so tightly that his heart and body became engaged.

He gripped the hem of her nightdress and watched her stiffen. “Rey?”

She bit her lip, anxiety entering her gaze. At last, she nodded.

He peeled the soft cotton garment over her head revealing her naked form. She was so small and perfect, delicately boned and slim limbed, her breasts upright with hard pink nipples, her flat belly and tiny waist emphasizing the flare of her hips, accentuating a smooth mound with a mouthwatering pink slit.

A ravenous hunger overcame him. Kylo kissed his way down Rey’s body, licking golden freckles and suckling tight nipples into the back of his throat. She gasped and squirmed as his fingers massaged soft flesh. He made his way lower across her flat belly, taking time to dip his tongue into her belly button.

At last he gripped her soft thighs and spread them wide, pressing his plush mouth to her glistening nether lips. Rey made a sound so desperate he chuckled. He ate her out with deep tongue thrusts and delicate butterfly brushes, finding the hard kernel of her desire and suckling wetly. She threw her head back, getting utterly lost in him.

When she was close, tilting her hips in unspoken request, he thrust two fingers deep inside her wet pink portal, the edges of sharp white teeth scraping her swollen clit. Rey climaxed with a throaty cry, her whole body convulsing in uncontrolled bliss.

When she finally stilled, she pressed her face into a pillow in embarrassment. She had never been so abandoned with anyone before.

"You taste like strawberries and champagne," Kylo whispered before she could say anything.

Rey lifted her face to his biceps and kissed the smooth skin over the tight muscle. "It's been a while for me."

"Good,” he growled. He dropped his head to her breast and licked a nipple. “I don’t like thinking of you with other men.”

She cupped his jawline, fascinated at the feel of him but determined to speak her piece. “Kylo, it’s been twelve years since a man last touched me.”

He paused his kisses, sitting up in confusion. “How old are you, Rey?”

She took a deep breath. “Twenty-five.”

She watched him do the math. Horror came over his face.

“Baby, no,” he whispered, and the anguish in his voice undid her.

All of a sudden she was crying, salty tears overflowing her lashes. She turned away from him, shame as heavy as a brick weighing down her heart.

Kylo tilted her face back to his, thick fingers still woven through her hair. He kissed her mouth, soft and insistent, and then kissed her tears away. One arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close.

“Who was he?” he asked, cold fury in his voice.

Rey buried her face in the warmth of his chest. “A supervisor at a state-run home,” she told him. “It only happened once. Bazine walked into the room and she reported it. No one believed us but we were moved to another foster home within the week to avoid problems.” She looked at Kylo with sad eyes. “It’s been my only sexual experience.”

“I want his name,” Kylo snarled.

Rey stared at him, shaking her head. “It’s done,” she said. “I looked him up when I got into college and found out he’d died of a heart attack two years after the incident.”

Kylo drew a deep breath. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

“Don’t be,” she said, not looking him in the eyes. “I just wanted you to know who I am. There’s a reason why I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m damaged and broken, Kylo. Bazine is the right one for you, not me.”

“Don’t ever say that,” he snapped, tilting her chin so he could gaze deep into her eyes. “You’re smart and sweet and about to save my life so don’t you dare put yourself down ever again.”

She pinkened, her lashes fluttering. “Yes, Kylo.”

He smirked. “Good girl. Oh, and by the way, I'm not finished yet."

Rey dug her nails into the back of his neck as he lowered his head to her little breasts, lapping and suckling at flesh as smooth as satin, using his teeth to toy with her nipples. This time she let herself go completely. It was a relief to be with this man.

He started to kiss his way down past her stomach and to her aching cunt once more. He was gentle this time, the feel of his mouth on her sex all the more vivid because he barely touched her. Soft strokes hovered over that vulnerable, hot place on her body, making her strain to feel him, turning each pass of his lips and his tongue into a source of both pleasure and frustration.

"More," she demanded, pushing her hips up.

His amber eyes lifted. “Alright, sweetheart.”

With a growl, he sealed her slit with his mouth, sucking pink petals, pulling her swollen clit down his throat. She came again, this time in hard, shattering peaks, but he kept going, riding out her jerks and arches, the sound of lips against lips rising up with her guttural cries as he worked her and made her climax over and over again.

When her thundering orgasms came to a drawn out stop, she stilled and so did he. They were both panting, his glossy mouth on the inside of her thigh, his three fingers buried tight within her.

She lifted her head, a tiny frown furrowing her brow. There was a scent in the bedroom as if someone had spritzed a bottle of manly cologne, a fragrance of woodsmoke and rain. She breathed deeply.

"Yeah, I can smell it too," Kylo said roughly.

“What is it?” Rey asked curiously.

Kylo lifted his wrist to his nose. “It’s me,” he said in puzzlement.

“Why—”

“I don’t know.”

Kylo was suddenly uneasy. He rolled over onto his back and as they lay there with about six inches between them, she missed him as badly as if it were a country mile.

Turning on her side, Rey stared at him as he stared at the ceiling.

"Kylo?"

"Yes, baby."

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering why my body is blooming like a bloody rose garden in spring.”

“Oh.” She worried her lower lip, wanting to set his mind at ease. “You smell nice.”

He turned his head to look at her and started laughing, his smile so wide it erased all the sullen tension he normally bore on his face, making his expression startlingly boyish. “You’re a funny one, Rey.”

She was pleased to have made him smile. “You’ve never done it before? The… the scent?”

He shook his head.

“Was it anything we did?”

“Trust me, baby, nothing that’s happened was new to me.”

Rey flushed. Of course, she wasn’t anything special. Kylo must have had hundreds of lovers in the past and she was sure Bazine took good care of him. “Then it must be me.”

He stared at her but said nothing.

“Right?” Rey prompted in a small voice. “Maybe because I’m part succubus? Or- or because I’m your chalice?”

Kylo’s face grew troubled and she felt worse than before. Trust her to ruin what was turning out to be a perfect moment. She wanted to make it right.

“Are you hard, Kylo?”

“No.”

Rey considered her options. "What if I kiss you there?"

She could tell she'd shocked him by the way his breath caught. "Excuse... Wh-what?"

She had to smile. He wasn't the kind of male who stuttered over anything. "Let me do something for you."

“Have you ever given a blowjob?” he asked, his tone hard.

“No, but I’ve read about them.”

The innocence of her response nearly undid him. "I'm not sure...whether that would be..." As his breath grew ragged, his voice got even deeper.

She put her hand to his chest and massaged the muscles there slowly. "I think it's a great idea."

He was panting and flushed now, a fine sheen of sweat slicking what portion of his shoulders showed from above the covers. And that wasn't the half of it. The scent of smoke and rain flared until it saturated the air, his internal chemistry reacting to the need he had for her and what she wanted to do for him.

“Kylo?” Rey asked uncertainly.

The blankets slipped off his muscular body and she saw his manhood. He was hard. Big, long and hard like a steel pipe.

Kylo nearly howled. His body had come alive, sensation tingling through him, his heart thumping against his ribcage. He looked down. His cock was stiff and thick, the tip glossy and ready to penetrate.

By the flames of Mustafar, he’d never been this hard or ready before. His senses were utterly awake, his blood heated and thundering in his veins, his skin aching to be touched, the orgasm in the shaft of his erection screaming to get free.

Kylo threw himself on top of Rey, sliding his monstrous cock deep inside her tight, wet channel. He pumped into her, once, twice. She moaned and rocked beneath him, doe-eyed with desire. His balls tightened up as hard as fists and the small of his back rippled.

Kylo came like a firehose, spasmodically pumping into Rey, her slick satin core tight around him. He orgasmed again and again until his seed began to seep out of her pink slit. And still he needed more, as if his body hadn't released in a hundred years.

All of a sudden his jerking cock began to swell. He groaned as a knot grew at the root of his shaft, so sensitive to touch it made his mind swim. Instinctively he began to push that swell of flesh inside Rey’s aching quim with every thrust. The knot grew so big and hard it caught at the tender opening of her weeping slit, keeping him wedged inside her while his manhood emptied itself of his essence.

“Kylo,” she whimpered. “You’re too big!”

“Shh, baby,” he crooned, the rub of her silken nether lips against that hard knot the most fabulous friction he’d ever experienced. “You can take it, sweetheart. Be a good girl and take it all. That’s right… just like that.”

Rey came with a scream as he ground into her, her slender legs hooked over his shoulders in abandon. Kylo wrapped his arms around the little female and held her close as they both shuddered and climaxed in savage union, his cock knot keeping them locked together for over an hour.

When the storm finally passed, he was draped atop Rey’s soft form like a piece of driftwood, his face shoved hard into the sheets, shoulders sagging, thighs twitching. The bed was ruined, covered in their DNA.

Rey flinched as Kylo shakily rolled off her. He wasn’t able to go far, their legs still entangled.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped.

“For what?” she asked, her voice plaintive.

“I wanted to be gentle,” he groaned.

Unexpectedly, she giggled. “That didn’t work out, did it?”

He turned towards her, forcing open eyelids that felt glued down. Rey was sitting up, her face worried. There was no judgment or condemnation there.

"Are you okay?"

Well, wasn't that the question. He’d knotted her like a dog in heat. That was new.

“I didn’t know your biology was different to human males,” she said shyly.

Kylo dropped his head. For the first time in his life he found himself wanting to unburden everything to another person. Even with Baz, whom he claimed to love, he’d held back on confessing every dirty thing he’d done to keep his nation running smoothly and his people alive. But with Rey's hazel pools so wide and warm in her lovely, perfect face, he just wanted to be honest.

“That’s never happened to me before,” he said hoarsely.

She looked surprised. “The… the knotting?”

“Yes,” he muttered. “And now that I think about it, the scent coming off me must have been a bonding pheromone. I’ve heard of other races who mate that way.”

“But why now?” Rey asked. “Why with me?”

Kylo shook his head. He was too spent to decipher such questions. He just needed to know one thing. “Can we do that again some time?”

There was no hesitation from Rey. "Yes."

He smirked at her eagerness. "Even if things can't be normal between us? And I can’t be your boyfriend?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "Why would you do this for me, Rey?"

She lay back down against the pillows. "I don't have a real answer, just feelings."

The cold numbness of his magical penance was returning as the remnants of his orgasms dissipated. He hadn’t even realised how cold he was until Rey’s touch.

"Tell me."

She was quiet for a long while. "You ask me why I would do this for you? And the only answer I have is… how could I not?" Her eyes were focused on her toes. "It doesn't make sense to me on any level, but then, feelings don't make sense, do they? You belong to Baz, I know that, but tonight... you gave me something I never thought I’d have. I never thought I’d trust a man enough to have amazing sex." Rey shook her head. "I don't know what this is," she said, gesturing between them. "All I know is I like being with you too much to deny it."

Kylo's chest swelled as he stared at her. "Rey?"

"Yes?"

"I already care for you."

She stared at him, frozen for a moment. “But you love Baz,” she said at last. Rey rolled away from him and Kylo immediately saw his mistake.

Like an idiot he’d driven a nail through her heart. What did it matter that he cared for her when he was in love with another woman?

Bazine…

Now that he’d found his release, Kylo felt well again. Light and energised. He needed to shower and find his fiancée. Beg for her understanding.

Then why was his every instinct asking him to comfort the hurt little female by his side?


	9. Don't Quit Loving Me

_Foolish girl._

Rey winced recalling her words to Kylo as they lay naked in bed. What was she thinking, confessing her feelings to him? As if he cared. He had Bazine. She, Rey, was an unlooked for solution to a problem.

Sex with Kylo was incredible. Her delicate places still felt lightly scorched, a shivery sensation that made her weak in the knees.

His manhood, long and thick and strong, was an experience in itself. He’d filled her up, entering her snug passage with an aggressive thrust, but then the swelling knot that grew at his base had robbed her of breath. Her aching clit was pressed against the hard flesh and she’d climaxed over and over until she thought she’d lose her mind from the pleasure. When he pushed inside her, she’d nearly fainted from ecstasy.

She wanted more. More of Kylo and more of his incredible body. And yet she didn’t deserve him. He wasn’t hers.

Rey hadn’t seen Baz since the awkward conversation initiated by Kylo. She tried to text her friend but had no response. Rey couldn’t blame the pretty blonde for not wanting to speak to her. It could have made mealtimes awkward, except Baz refused to show.

Threepio seemed confused by the situation and Kylo told her over breakfast that he’d confided only in Poe.

“You’re making a mistake,” Rey said as she nibbled a cold piece of toast.

Kylo stopped mid-way through devouring a mountain of pancakes swimming in butter and maple syrup. He’d cheerfully admitted his appetite had returned now that he was no longer… weighed down. She wanted to smack him in the head as he dug into his food.

“Excuse me?” he asked, licking syrup off a fork.

Her body tightened in response to that one act. “You should tell your Royal Guard about… me,” she said snappily. She’d almost said ‘us’, but there was no ‘us’, was there?

Rey knew she was upset Kylo didn’t seem half as miserable as her. She ached for him all the time.

“Perhaps,” was all he’d concede, returning to his meal.

“I’ll be hanging around for the next hundred years,” she said, her tone sharp. “Someone’s going to find that strange eventually.”

“Yup,” he agreed around a mouthful of pancake.

She glared at him and he smiled back beatifically.

_Men._

“Why are you so cranky?” he asked.

“Why are you so happy?” she retorted.

“You’re together,” a cold voice interrupted.

Rey lost what little appetite she had as Baz walked into the dining room. Kylo didn’t hesitate, standing up to pull out a chair so she could sit beside him.

The blonde looked gorgeous in a hot pink tank top and tight black yoga pants, her honey hair falling to her shoulders in lush curls, her eyelids soft mauve and her lips gloss red.

Rey felt like a drudge in her t-shirt and jeans, her hair in a messy bun and her only makeup her favourite apple lip balm. Why couldn’t she get her act together?

“May I get you a plate?” Kylo asked his fiancée solicitously.

Rey wondered if the wedding was still going ahead, and then felt guilty for wondering at all.

Baz glared at Rey instead. “We need to talk.”

At last, Kylo’s good humour was pierced. “Baz, I’ve told you before Rey had no choice…”

She turned on him, blue eyes flashing. “I don’t care, Kylo. You want me to be okay with this? Then she and I need to hash it out.”

Rey prayed Kylo would keep his mouth shut. As it turned out, the man was a politician for a reason. He nodded and returned to his pancakes.

Baz took the seat beside Kylo, resting polished lavender nails with sparkling diamante tips on one broad shoulder, proprietarily kneading his flesh. Rey fought a flash of irritation at this obvious game play.

She needed to relax. Baz was well within her right to touch her own man… with whom Rey had had sex.

“So he fucked you,” Baz said crudely.

She stared at her friend, not recognising the ugly tone of voice. She and Kylo had pushed Baz to this.

“Kylo told me he went to you.”

Rey nodded, not daring to speak.

“Was he any good?”

Rey felt sick to her stomach. She said nothing and Baz kept going.

“Did he tell you he made love to me last night?”

At last Rey flinched and Baz gave an ugly chuckle.

“No, I can see he didn’t.”

Rey refused to look at Kylo though the clinking of cutlery had gone quiet.

 _What does it matter?_ she asked herself. She knew what she was getting herself into. She was the mistress of a king. She hadn’t even been chosen by him. Kylo didn’t really want to be with her.

Rey felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids and fought them. Is this what Baz wanted, for Rey to feel as wretched as she did?

“I didn’t make him come but we sure had fun trying. Didn’t we, Kylo?” Baz ran her long nails through his dark hair.

At last Rey glanced at him but Kylo was stony faced. She looked away again. She made herself speak past the lump in her throat. “This is a terrible situation, Baz. I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”

“Can’t you?” Baz asked sarcastically. “Kylo says there’s nothing between him and you except biology but I don’t quite believe it.”

“Snoke picked me because I was the closest female with shadow blood,” Rey said. All true, except she was also desperately in love with Kylo. Could Baz tell she had feelings for her husband-to-be?

“Are you still going out with Finn?” Baz asked, arching a sleek brow.

“What?” Kylo spat out the question in surprise.

“Oh,” Rey gasped. She’d completely forgotten. “Finn asked me on a date,” she told Kylo abruptly. “I—I said yes. Is that tonight?”

Baz smiled coolly. “You’ve been busy thinking about other things.”

Rey bit her lip. “I’ll call him and break it off.”

“No,” Baz almost snarled.

Rey stared at her friend. “Baz, you can’t expect me to go on a date with another man when Kylo and I are… well… when we’re doing whatever it is we’re doing.”

“That’s exactly what I expect,” the blonde said coldly. “Prove to me that this role you play in my future husband’s life is only physical, Rey. You should have your own boyfriend if I’m ever to believe you’re not emotionally invested in Kylo.”

Rey shifted hopelessly in her seat. “Baz, you know I don’t do well on dates. I haven’t had anyone special since college.”

“I’m not asking you to marry Finn,” Baz replied with a humourless laugh. “The date is a token of good faith. Will you do this for me, Rey? It’ll help ease my mind.”

Rey nodded. What could she say except, “Of course, I will.”

Kylo pushed his plate away. It was obvious he wasn’t happy, but Bazine’s satisfied smile could not be denied.

The afternoon came and went like a cloud scudding across the sky. Why was it time flew when there was something terrible on the horizon?

No, that wasn’t fair to Finn. He was a perfectly decent guy, good looking and well built, sexy enough to be an action hero in a Hollywood movie. And he could make her laugh.

Perhaps Baz was right. If she had her own relationship, her own man, maybe she could treat her time with Kylo like a doctor’s appointment.

A hot and raunchy doctor’s appointment that she craved like an addict awaiting her next hit.

Rey bit back a groan as she stood in front of her closet. Kylo had promised her anything she wanted. Now was probably a good time for a shopping trip.

“Rey?”

Her room door creaked open and Baz stuck her head inside.

Rey felt her heart swell with hope. The possibility she had her friend back was good enough reason to go on an awkward date. And Rey was certain it would be awkward. She had a way of self-sabotaging these things.

“Hey, Baz,” she said with what she hoped was a casual smile. Guilt was turning her into an over eager puppy.

“I thought you might need help getting dressed,” the blonde said. In her hand was a garment bag and a pair of slinky black shoes.

“Thank you!” Rey exclaimed. “That’s so kind. I was just standing here thinking I had nothing appropriate to wear…”

“I want you to sleep with him.”

Rey stared at Baz, unsure if she’d heard correctly. “What did you say?”

“I want you to have sex with Finn,” Baz repeated.

Rey flushed. “Are you kidding?”

“No, I’m not.” Baz threw the garment bag at her. “Wear this. It’ll guarantee you get laid. I picked it out especially.”

Rey picked up the opaque black sheathe with fingers that trembled. “I won’t promise to- to sleep with Finn,” she said, her breath unsteady. “If things head that way, that’s fine, but…”

“Who’re you kidding, Rey? We both know things never ‘head that way’ for you. You’ve been damaged ever since you got raped at the orphanage.”

Rey had the sudden urge to throw up. Her foster sister’s words were spoken without compassion.

“And yet given half the chance to screw my man, you took it.” Baz’s blue eyes burned with cold fury. “Are you jealous of me, is that it? You can’t stand that I’m happy and you’re alone?”

Rey’s next breath was hitched to a sob. Was this cruel, vindictive creature really Baz? “I’m so, so sorry…”

“I don’t want your remorse, bitch,” Baz snarled. “I want you to sleep with Finn.”

Rey shook her head. “I’m not some kind of whore, Baz. I can’t just decide to have sex with a man.” Too late, she saw the error of her words.

Baz gave her a triumphant smile. “But isn’t that what you and Kylo claim to have done? Made a decision to screw for his health or whatever?”

And Rey knew Baz didn’t believe in the idea of penance or the binding of dark magic. Or, if she did, she didn’t care that such things existed. Rey had betrayed her and Baz wanted vengeance.

“Get dressed, Rey-rey. We’re all looking forward to your entrance.”

Rey stared at Baz’s retreating back, unsure what her final statement meant.

Rey may have been the straight-A student growing up, but she’d seen Baz exhibit a low cunning to protect herself that was hard to beat. This was the first time Baz had turned it against her.

Head throbbing and heart aching, Rey unzipped the garment bag. Her first impression was of a shimmery green cocktail dress. How bad could it be?

As it turned out, the dress was borderline immoral. It had slinky spaghetti straps and barely enough iridescent jade green fabric to cover her body. A plunging neckline revealed the rounded slopes of her small breasts, hugging her tiny waist and hips, the skirt clinging tight to her bottom with slits on either side, almost to her hips. The dress was backless making it impossible for her to wear a bra. The sexy, strappy black shoes had a five-inch heel and she had to practice walking around the room in them.

Rey looked like a girl with one thing on her mind. To minimise the effect she pulled her chestnut red hair into a ballerina’s bun, not realising the sleek simplicity of her up-do merely emphasized the practically nude lines of her body in the skimpy dress. Her only other makeup was a peach gloss, hazel eyes peering out anxiously through tangled lashes.

Her mobile phone beeped seven and she drew a shaky breath. She’d told Finn she would meet him in the foyer of the house.

Rey began her descent from the top of the spiral staircase, walking slowly so she wouldn’t trip. She heard a muttered oath and curved her lips into a warm smile, expecting to see Finn.

Her heart nearly stopped beating when she looked into Hux’s angry emerald gaze.

What was he doing here?

Rey kept moving down the stairs, suddenly twice as self-conscious in the sparkly green cocktail dress. Her eyes nervously roamed the front entrance and she realised there were so many people present it was practically a party.

Poe was by the foot of the stairs, his chiselled face carefully expressionless. Snap leant against a heavily curtained windowsill, his lips pursed in a soundless whistle. Next to him was Mitaka, the younger man’s eyes nearly bugging out of his head. And Finn… Finn was waiting for her in the middle of the foyer dressed in a white silk shirt and dark slacks, looking like he’d won the lottery.

Rey felt awful. Her legs trembled, wanting nothing more than to carry her back to her bedroom.

She could do this, she told herself. It was just a date.

“Don’t you look lovely,” Baz’s voice pierced the air.

Rey turned her head. In a shadowed corner by the staircase Baz stood with her hand on Kylo’s arm. The big man looked sullen, his head lowered as if he were a bull about to charge.

Rey couldn’t even pretend pleasure at Baz’s compliment, loaded as it was with hidden meaning. Feeling the oppressive weight of Kylo’s glower, she picked up her pace. Her stilettos clicked noisily on the polished marble floor and she held out a hand to Finn. She hoped whatever he’d planned for tonight would take them far from the mansion.

“You look incredible,” Finn said appreciatively, linking his fingers with hers and bending down to press a lingering kiss on her cheek.

Rey had no idea what she would have said in reply because all of a sudden there came a savage roar. She turned to see Baz scrambling away from what had once been Kylo.

The red dragon was back.


	10. Start Loving Me

Kylo had grown nearly fifteen feet high, his handsome face transformed into the mask of a beast. His scales glittered ruby red, his eyes pools of molten red lava. Rey took in the long snout and fanged mouth, triangular ears tucked almost unnoticeably high on the head, a spiked frill of bone following the line of his jaw.

He was still standing on two feet but his shirt was shredded to pieces revealing an inhumanly large chest covered in the natural armour of the dragon. His arms were broad and bulky, rippling with scales, his hands like clawed talons.

The royal guard were momentarily frozen but then Kylo took a step forward, his weight making the ceiling quake and rain down plaster. The guard shifted, their stance becoming combative, preparing for possible battle. The dragon took another step.

He was headed for Rey.

She pulled her hand out of Finn’s grasp, ready to meet the beast. Eager to do so.

“Rey, no!” Finn yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

The dragon roared, a blast of flame filling the room, singeing hair and prickling skin.

“By the realms, Finn, don’t touch her!” Poe shouted.

Rey glanced at Poe. Of course, he knew about her. About Kylo and her.

“What in Hades fire…?” Finn gasped.

“Let Rey go,” Poe ordered, his voice ringing across the foyer.

Rey didn’t wait for Finn to respond. She shook herself free and stepped up to the dragon.

The beast quietened, its breath loud in the marbled room but steady once more. He bowed his big head and she reached out with a soft hand, patting it on the snout. A rumble came from deep within its throat and with a spike of her pulse she realised it was purring. From this angle she saw Kylo had a scaly six-foot tail protruding from his lower back.

Interesting.

The logical part of her, unused to anything more magical than a smartphone, screamed at her to run. But her heart… oh, her heart ached to be close to this creature, to rub her fingers over glittering ruby scales and feel the thrum of its wings. Because he’d grown wings, their span so large they swept to the floor.

The dragon huffed and nudged her face. Rey giggled unexpectedly, leaning forward to press a quick kiss near vicious looking teeth. The arms that were still half Kylo spread wide and he gathered her into his embrace. He was careful not to hurt her with sharp black claws, though they snagged the fabric of her dress.

“Poe, I know you want us to back off but is this such a good idea?” It was Snap who spoke, one hand on the pommel of a sword.

“He will not hurt her,” Poe said, though he looked concerned.

The dragon flew to the top of the stairs with Rey in his grasp, turning towards Kylo’s apartment.

“No,” Rey said, looking up into burning eyes. She’d glimpsed Baz’s bitterly angry face as he’d picked her up. “My room,” she told the dragon. “Please. I can show you the way.”

But there was enough Kylo left inside that the creature knew where to go.

The beast cracked a wooden beam sliding through her bedroom doorway, slamming the door shut once they were in her quarters. It laid her gently on the bed, slicing her dress to ribbons with a shiny black claw. Rey gasped as her body was revealed to shimmering red eyes, her skin pale gold, her breasts firm and her pink nipples tight with need, tiny white lace panties covering her damp mound, slutty shoes still strapped to her feet.

She was glad the dress was ruined. She never wanted to see it again.

The dragon lifted itself over her, the huge body at least five times the width of her slender frame. He planted one massive clawed hand above her head, straddling her with muscular legs. He held all his weight himself, hovering above her.

Rey was lost, in awe of the magnificent creature covering her. She reached up and rubbed ruby plates, feeling them shift as thick muscle rippled beneath cartilage.

“Gorgeous,” she whispered.

The creature gave another rumbling purr, placing a cold nose on the soft, vulnerable skin of her belly. Rey held her breath as the magnificent head rubbed against her. Just as she was beginning the relax, the beast’s maw opened and a long, forked tongue slithered out.

He licked a hot strip from her neck to her face and Rey arched her back in response.

She was being reckless, she told herself. The dragon was a part of Kylo, yes, but it was still an animal. This was dangerous.

That long, wet tongue, like fine grains of sand lubricated by ocean spray, lashed across her taut breasts and Rey cried out. Another deep, rumbling purr made her blush. Her nipples ached for more and he seemed to sense this. His tongue licked a pathway from her face, down her neck and freckled shoulders, thrumming against her breasts, and down the flat expanse of her stomach, wetting the already moist fabric of her panties.

Rey felt like she’d lose her mind as that tongue flickered against the sheer gusset of her knickers. She reached down with trembling fingers and peeled off her only piece of clothing, allowing her legs to fall open, thighs quivering with need.

The dragon knew what she wanted, needed, longed for. It consumed her with a generous slurp of its glistening tongue, sliding between the lips of her womanhood like silken rope, the forked tip finding the hard, swollen bud of her clit at the top of her pink slice, flicking and stroking until Rey squirmed with bliss.

A big hand shifted, holding her down by her waist, only putting as much pressure on her body as it would take to keep her still. She mewled as the dragon’s sticky tongue burrowed its way inside her weeping quim, spreading the velvet petals of her sex, stroking her insides in sinful hunger. It was going deep, as deep as Kylo had plundered three nights ago.

Rey peaked with a soft scream, her orgasm a rippling, multi-layered storm as the beast continued to tease and thrust into her secret place with a nimble tongue. At last it backed off and she wrapped her legs around a big calf, pressing her throbbing core to cool scales.

The dragon huffed and she peeked up at it with glazed hazel eyes. “Are you laughing at me?” she asked.

The big ruby red body lay down next to her, making the bed frame creak. The creature had shrunk somewhat but still he took up almost all the mattress, leaving her to find a place to snuggle between muscular thighs.

There was a bulge at the junction of its legs and she went searching, the dragon watching with one crimson eye. Its sex lay nestled inside a smooth pocket of skin. She peeked to see the vibrant pink organ pulsing like a beating heart.

“I could pleasure you,” she told the beast when it shifted away from her fingers.

A rich, fragrant aroma filled the bed, a heady cloud of woodsmoke that drenched her soft skin. Rey remembered what Kylo had said. This was an act of mating. He’d done the same to her in human form.

The scarlet skin of the beast rippled and smoothed, leaving behind muscular flesh. It’s jaw and snout shortened, teeth retracting and hair growing thick and black. The molten red gaze turned amber shot through with crimson lightning.

Kylo was back.

Rey was still, feeling uncertain. She wondered if he would jump out of bed and go looking for Baz. Instead Kylo reached for her, pulling her nearly nude form into his arms, burying his face in her hair, the chestnut locks come loose from its tight bun.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” he muttered, still smelling like a forest after the rain.

“Do what?” she asked. Even though she suspected what he would say next, she had to be sure. She was sure of so little when it came to this man.

“The dragon was unleashed because of you, Rey. It has bonded with you, fallen for you. The other day when you were in danger it showed itself. And tonight, when Finn touched you…” Kylo gave an inhuman growl and Rey reached out to stroke his chest, soothing him.

“It was a date, Kylo, not a marriage ceremony.”

He shook his head to clear it. “All I knew was that Finn needed to die,” he said, his tone as dark as night. “I would have killed my best friend if Poe wasn’t there warning him.”

“Why?” she whispered.

“The mere thought of him kissing you, touching you… the idea you’d come home smelling of him and not me…” Kylo snarled.

He slid a hand into her wealth of silken hair, using that tight grip to guide her trembling lips to his mouth. The kiss was hard and hot, possessive and greedy. He unashamedly consumed her, their tongues clashing like swords.

Kylo rolled over, straddling her hips, breaking the kiss to stare down at her. Even in the gloom of the bedroom Rey could see his pupils were blown wide open, endless black in a sea of red. She could feel the growl from within his broad chest rumbling through his body, his scent hitting her in waves.

Her pulse, already erratic, picked up speed. He was still dangerous, still part beast, but she wasn’t afraid. Kylo was the dragon and the dragon was him.

“You are mine, Rey,” he said at last, the words coming from him in explosive release and yet with great reluctance. He knew how archaic such a thing sounded. “You are mine and mine only.”

She sucked in a breath, the timber of his voice sending tremors of desire straight to the junction of her thighs, her clit pulsing in response, pink muscles clenching and moistening, slick with need.

He leaned forward, muscular arms on either side of her head, kissing her with deliberate patience, making her squirm. She was helpless, breath constricted and lashes fluttering as he trailed whisper soft kisses down her neck and over her breasts.

“Mine, mine, mine,” he mumbled, his voice still that guttural growl. He captured one tight bud and bit down, making her gasp then moan as his tongue soothed the sting. He suckled deep her other nipple.

“Kylo!” she cried, almost out of her mind with lust.

He smiled, both wicked and tender. “I know, baby,” he murmured. “I’m here now. I’ll take care of you.”

She arched up from the bed as he moved lower, his hands on her hips, holding her in place. Instinctively her legs spread for him, revealing glistening pink folds, soaked with her own brand of honey, ready for him once more. She glanced feverishly at his cock, swollen hard and as thick as her wrists, the tip weeping clear tears of want.

He bent his head, dark hair tickling her sticky thighs, and flicked his tongue. The wet muscle grazed the edge of her clit and she shuddered, a strangled cry escaping her throat. The dragon had consumed her but Kylo was determined to tease.

He smirked, admiring her trembling breasts as her breathing came in shallow pants.

“You like that, baby?” he cooed, eyes flashing. “You like our tongue on your needy little quim?”

 _Our._ Rey momentarily registered the pronoun.

“Yes, please, yes,” she begged, she who’d never begged in her whole life, not even in her most powerless moments in the foster system. But with Kylo, she felt safe. He would care for her.

Kylo nuzzled the smooth flesh of her mound, purposefully staying away from the raw bundle of nerves nestled in the folds of her damp slit. “You smell sweet,” he said, his breath warm on her skin. “Do you want me to taste you? The dragon has already had his way with you.”

She flushed at this reminder but there was no embarrassment, only desire. “Please, Kylo… please,” she said frantically.

He licked a scalding stripe up her folds of flesh to her hard clit, savouring the taste of her and moaning low in his throat. She was so wet for him, her nectar coating his lips as he fondled her silken slit.

“Gorgeous…” he sighed. “You were made for me, Rey.”

She could only whimper in response as he continued his gentle exploration. Her body was screaming for more, wanting to be filled and stretched, but his delicate touch, his tongue and lips working her throbbing quim as if she were spun sugar, nibbling and licking, was the most incredible thing ever.

At last he put her out of her misery, latching onto the erect spire of her aching clit, suckling deep, the tip of his tongue drawing circles as he did so. She began to sob in reaction to his loving attention, her body bent like a bow, his hand gripping her hips, the only thing anchoring her to the bed.

“Kylo…” she spoke his name.

“I know what you need, baby,” he said, in perfect control now.

He pushed her legs up until her feet, still wrapped in five-inch black stilettos, rested on his shoulders. He thrust deep into her, his hips pounding against hers so hard that the sound reverberated around the room. She cried out. Relief and ecstasy and the sharp burn of his intrusion combined to make her swoon.

He gripped the headboard of her bed and began a punishing rhythm, long, hard cock and tight, slick flesh, the push and pull unbearably intense.

“Open your eyes, Rey,” he commanded. “Look at me.”

With great difficulty she did as ordered, a small part of her stung by the arrogance of his tone.

“You’re mine,” he grunted, sliding in and out of her velvet portal, his manhood shining with her desire. “You’re mine and nobody is taking you away from me!” His movements grew more violent, his thick shaft ploughing her aching core.

“Yours,” she panted in agreement, her every cell on fire. “I’m yours, Kylo.” Her mind was about to split at the sensory overload of his lovemaking.

He was moving on pure, savage instinct now as her sweet voice pledged herself to him. She was his. And he… he was hers.

He pulled out of her and she wailed at the loss. Quickly he flipped her onto her stomach, tugging on her waist so she was lifted onto her knees before him. He thrust back into her weeping quim from behind causing her to fall on her forearms, her head pressed to the mattress.

“You’re so tight, baby,” he groaned, his throat growing ragged from continued exertion. He was deep inside her, his lean hips slapping her pert bottom with every pump.

He collapsed forward, his arms bracketing her shoulders, gritting his teeth with the effort of their intercourse, sweat dripping down their bodies. Her form began to shudder as she approached climax, her wet muscles clenching around him, pulling him deeper inside as she whimpered her pleasure. He couldn’t help but respond, shouting as he released, a swelling knot at the base of his thick cock locking her against him while he filled her with an endless stream of male essence.

Rey flittered in and out of consciousness. When she came to she was wrapped in Kylo’s embrace, their loins still locked together. He was making a purring sound of contentment deep in his chest and it made her smile as she thought of the dragon.

_My loves._

Who knew that she who had none would now have two?

“So…” she said huskily, tracing her fingers across the veins on the backs of his hands, “I guess I should delete all my dating apps.”

He nipped the top of her ear and she giggled.

“If that was a joke, it’s in poor taste,” Kylo said, but there was no heat in his voice. He was sated for now, both him and his beast.

As the minutes ticked by the swelling of his knot reduced and he eased out of her sore quim, releasing a gush of fluid. Rey wondered if she should be grossed out, but she only wanted to lie in it. In him.

“Rey, I need to say something,” Kylo said, turning her around. His amber gaze was serious.

Rey felt a tightening in her chest and she reached for a sheet, pulling it over her nude body. He noticed her pathetic attempt to shield herself and frowned.

“What is it?” She hated how weak she sounded.

“It appears the dragon will not tolerate seeing you with anyone else,” he began uncertainly. “I’m sorry about that. I know you did not choose this life, and certainly I didn’t think you’d be faithful only to me.”

She gave him a small smile. “It’s okay. I’ve never been one to date around anyway. This is easier.”

 _And I love you with every breath in my body,_ she wished she could add.

Kylo nodded. “I want to save my relationship with Baz. That hasn’t changed.”

Rey ignored the sharp pain that entered her chest like a knife to the heart. “I understand,” she said, though she looked away.

“I also want you to know last night Baz came looking for me.”

“Kylo…”

“I think she was testing the truth of my words, to ensure the magics were real. But I also see now that Baz wanted to hurt you.”

Rey sat up, nearly moaning as she felt the pull of well used muscles. “I know, Kylo.”

He frowned. “You do?”

“Baz came to me in private and demanded I sleep with Finn.”

Kylo swore.

“I can understand her reasoning,” Rey said with sudden compassion. “How better to make sure the woman having sex with your fiancé is safe than to ensure she has a lover of her own?”

Kylo said nothing. Rey could feel him pulling away from her, both physically and emotionally.

She stood up to head to the bathroom, pausing when she saw his shredded shirt on the bedroom floor. “You might want to consider leaving a few clothes in my closet,” she suggested, but his expression only grew more troubled.

Rey drew a shaky breath. Guilt had already begun eroding the memory of their time together as Kylo considered how best to make it up to Baz.

She tightened the sheet around herself but paused before closing the bathroom door. “When you slept with Baz last night, did you knot her?”

Kylo glowered and Rey wondered if she’d overstepped her boundaries asking the question.

“No,” he snapped.

By the time she was done with her shower, Kylo was gone. Rey curled up on the couch to weep the loss of his presence and the futility of her love.


	11. Fighting With Fire

Poe agreed with Rey, the Royal Guard had to be told.

Kylo called his men together and laid out the situation with his usual blunt aplomb. The expressions on their faces ranged from disbelief to shock. As usual, Finn was the first one to break the silence.

“Dude, you were going to let me date your woman! Rey is bound to you. She’s a… a king’s consort.”

Kylo pondered the word his best friend had picked to reference Rey’s position. It was chosen with surprising sensitivity considering mistress and concubine were also available, but he suspected Finn had developed a genuine crush on Rey.

“It was Baz’s idea,” he admitted. Poe and Snap exchanged glances, irritating Kylo. His men had never really warmed to Bazine. “What?” he asked.

No one said anything for a moment, and then Snap spoke. “It wasn’t a very good idea, was it?”

Kylo rolled his eyes. Things must have been bad if the silent one was speaking up. “At least I’ve worked out what was triggering the dragon,” he muttered.

“That’s true,” Poe said, arms crossed over his chest. “So your avatar is in love with Rey. How did that happen?”

Kylo groaned, rubbing a hand across his face. “I have no idea.”

“She’s a special girl,” Finn said, drawing a dark look from Hux.

The most violent of his soldiers was also the most protective of Kylo and his position. Now that Rey was officially the supreme leader’s lover, Hux would make sure no other male came near her. Kylo felt surprisingly warm towards the warrior.

“What happened last night once you were alone with her?” Poe asked. “Did you turn human immediately?”

Kylo weighed his options on how to answer the question. He tended to be fairly open with his Royal Guard. Centuries of living had desensitised them from the need for privacy, but this situation with Rey was different. He found himself wanting to shield her from even his own people.

“You didn’t revert straight away!” Finn exclaimed, rightly reading Kylo’s silence. “Was Rey alright?”

Kylo tried not to roll his eyes. A besotted Finn was surprisingly annoying. He hoped the other man would find a female to warm his bed and soon. “The dragon was exceptionally gentle with her. I didn’t realise the creature could be anything but a weapon.”

“Did Rey mate with the beast?” Mitaka asked, sounding awed.

Finn snorted with laughter. “Of course she didn’t, you fool. Tell him, Kylo.”

But one thing Kylo struggled to do was lie. He said nothing and watched jaws drop across the room. “It’s not what you think,” he said hastily. “It wasn’t as if I mounted her.”

“Then what?” Mitaka piped up again, the youngster clearly too naïve to stop himself from asking questions about his supreme leader’s revolutionary sex life.

Kylo couldn’t help himself. A wicked grin flashed across his face. “The dragon likes how Rey tastes.”

There was a rumble of manly appreciation at this statement from all but Finn who seemed affronted. “She could have been hurt, Kylo,” he said sharply.

Hux slammed a fist against the door of the study, making everyone jump. “It is the supreme leader’s prerogative to claim his woman how he pleases,” he snarled, his voice as dark as the night.

Kylo frowned at this reminder. Hux was right; Rey was officially his woman. As much as he’d tried to deny it to Bazine, he was in a relationship with the other girl. How the hell would that work?

He dismissed his men, realising he had to get his head straight before he spoke to Bazine. That is, if she ever agreed to talk to him again.

Her new life was lonely.

Rey wanted to stay close to Kylo and so she chose to remain in the mansion. She quickly realised it was a mistake.

She had no friends since Baz had stopped talking to her. Kylo’s men were polite but distant. Even Finn was avoiding her, which stung.

But what really hurt was Threepio’s change of heart. Now that the truth was out, the butler had decided she was a homewrecker. Rey felt wretched the first time Threepio responded to her morning greeting with a sniff and icy silence.

She was just as trapped in this bond as Kylo, yet somehow he was the wronged one and she the slut. Typical. The woman always got the blame.

The supreme leader came to her every night and the sex was spectacular. Kylo was attentive and gentle when he’d first take her to bed before passion eventually overwhelmed them both until their lovemaking turned animalistic. Rey had grown addicted to his body, the fullness of his cock knot, the overwhelming pleasure of multiple orgasms as she ground against him. It was a mystical experience.

Despite this, Kylo set boundaries between them. He refused to spend the night and ignored Rey’s suggestion that he keep spare clothes in her room. She eventually found out he was using an empty bedroom to freshen up before he returned to the suite he shared with Baz. He chose to erase his time with Rey in a neutral space.

She suspected Kylo didn’t want to leave tangible traces of himself in her room. If he filled her closet with his things it might perpetuate the lie that they were in a relationship. Or that he cared for her.

It wasn’t long before Rey began battling dark thoughts, worse even than when she was a child stuck in loveless foster homes. She tried to distract herself by exploring Kylo’s library.

She researched Succubi but that didn’t really help. Her mother’s clan consisted of temptresses who revelled in their shallow lives. It made Rey question her own choices even more.

Could her feelings for Kylo be driven by her Succubus blood? Was she making decisions already predetermined by biological imperative? Except she didn’t want every man—just him. Her doubts only confused her.

But Kylo needed her. Wanted her. For a small amount of time every night she was in his arms and the sheer ecstasy of his touch made her feel like she was flying. And then he left and she realised anew she was nothing more than a vessel. A chalice, Snoke called her. Never was a truer word spoken.

The situation was eating away at her already fragile self-esteem. It would’ve been easier if she had no emotions; if she was a mannequin instead of a real girl.

Several weeks passed this way, uneventful yet emotionally fraught. Things were bound to come to a head.

One morning Rey came downstairs to find a miserable looking Threepio setting up breakfast.

“Are you okay?” she asked the butler hesitantly.

He was so sick he forgot to be rude. “Not really, Ms Rey,” he groaned. “The staff have been laid out with the flu.”

Rey stared at his pasty face and shaking hands. “Threepio, I’m perfectly capable of fixing myself a sandwich. You need to rest. The house will still be here tomorrow.”

The butler gave her a grateful look. “Thank you, miss. Could you do me one favour? The master takes his supper at eight. I will leave you household money so you can organise a meal to be delivered from a local restaurant.”

“What does he like to eat?”

“A steak with the trimmings should hit the spot,” Threepio puffed through congested nostrils.

Rey watched the butler shuffle away, heart pounding in her ears. She knew as soon as Threepio had spoken that she wanted to cook for Kylo.

Preparing a meal for a man felt incredibly intimate, almost more personal than all the nights she’d spent with him in bed. She’d never done anything like it before.

Rey timed the cook perfectly so Kylo’s steak and vegetables were still warm when he arrived at the table. She made honeyed carrots, creamy mash and buttered peas as sides. When she heard Kylo come through the door she began cooking the steak. Once the rare meat was rested, she loaded a warmed-up plate, filled a tankard with his favourite beer and laid it out in the dining room.

Kylo turned up on time though he looked bleary eyed and unkempt. Rey wondered if he’d had a hard day, but she was so thrilled about the meal she didn’t think too long about it. She was vibrating with excitement.

“Rey,” he said, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw her.

Kylo’s tone wasn’t welcoming but she didn’t mind. She only wanted to feed him.

“Come and sit,” she said, heart fluttering as she shook out a napkin. She hadn’t been silly enough to set a place for herself. She would see him take the first bite and then leave.

“What’s going on?” Kylo asked, his voice as hard as stone.

“Dinner,” Rey said innocently.

“Where’s Threepio?” He still hadn’t moved any closer to the dining table.

“He’s not well,” she admitted.

“Then where did the food come from?”

Kylo’s tone finally pierced the bubble she was in and Rey looked at him with startled eyes. “I—I cooked.”

“Why?”

She licked suddenly dry lips. “Threepio said… he said you normally have dinner at eight and I promised to make sure there was a hot meal waiting for you.”

Kylo folded thickly muscled arms across his chest. “Threepio told you to cook for me?” he asked disbelievingly.

Rey flushed. “No, he suggested I order takeaway.”

“Then why did you…” Kylo waved a hand at the plate of food and drink, the precisely placed cutlery and single yellow candlestick.

Rey’s excitement died only to be replaced by a feeling of dread. He was unhappy. What had she done wrong?

“I haven’t cooked in weeks, not since I arrived. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to prepare a meal for someone else.” She instinctively knew it would be a mistake to say _for you._

Kylo walked up to the table, amber eyes critiquing the food. Rey felt her heart shrivel up inside her chest.

What was going on? Kylo was sometimes detached, but he’d never been hard or angry with her. And tonight he was both.

“What do you think you’re doing, Rey?” he asked at last.

“It’s just dinner,” she whispered.

“No, it’s not,” he snapped. “Don’t you know your place by now? Baz is the woman I want to marry. You’ve gone too far by cooking me a meal and playing housewife. For you to behave this way is insulting to both Bazine and me.”

Rey took a step back, colour draining from her face. Her clever mind and sensitive personality had warned her this day would come, the moment when Kylo resented her presence for what she represented. She was nothing more than a milksop during his time of imprisonment.

But it had only been a month. Four weeks and already he despised her.

_Yeah, you’re a real prize._

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said, her voice shaking as hard as her knees.

“You never mean to do anything, do you, sweetheart?” he asked, his tone bitter.

Rey felt the contents of her stomach turn rancid. “I’ll go.”

“Wait,” he said, and she froze. “I don’t want the food.”

Rey knew what happened next was an accident but it felt deliberate. Kylo raised his hand and his fingers connected with the plate, sending it flying.

She watched meat and vegetables smash against a teak sideboard, and with it her heart. His face twisted in irritation as he surveyed broken china and smeared gravy.

“By the realms,” he swore, running a hand through thick black hair. “Just leave it, Rey. Someone will take care of the mess tomorrow.” And he walked away.

Rey felt numb. She waited a minute to ensure Kylo wasn’t coming back before starting to clean up. She didn’t want any evidence of the night’s conflict. She scraped the food she’d cooked into a bin, washing plates and pans, drying and putting them away. Making it so all traces of her efforts were removed.

That night Kylo did not come to her room and she was relieved. She didn’t want to face him after all he’d said. The worst part was he’d been right. She’d been indulging in a fantasy, pretending to be the woman he wanted, not just in his bed but in his life.

_Stupid girl. Magic might be real, but you’re not living in a fairy tale._

The next day Rey saw nothing of Kylo or Baz. She didn’t know what to think. Was she forsaken? The idea made her sick, except why would she want to remain with a man who’d spurned her?

Rey told herself enough was enough. Just because she loved a man it didn’t mean she was supposed to be with him. She had to leave. It was the only logical thing to do.


	12. Close To You

Rey began planning her return to the real world. Despite her heartbreak, there was some relief at the thought of immersing herself back in her demanding corporate job and uncomplicated friends.

At least no one in her old life made her feel worthless and unloved.

It took a couple of days to get herself together. There was still no sign of Kylo or Bazine by the time Rey organised a place to stay, finished packing her bag and called herself a cab.

She considered telling Threepio she was leaving but decided against it. After the night of the disastrous dinner the old butler had thawed somewhat in his attitude towards her, but he was still far from friendly.

Rey was seated in the mansion’s grand foyer awaiting her ride when Kylo walked in. He scowled when he saw her perched at the bottom of the stairs, suitcase beside her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.

“Hux called,” he said abruptly.

Rey blinked. Hux? Had the warrior been watching her? What the hell?

She stood so she wouldn’t look quite so small next to Kylo’s leather-clad bulk but the change in position did little to help. He was so very big and broad and male, making her feel like a snowflake, small and easily dissolved.

His eyes glowed red, she noted with a pang of concern. The dragon was unhappy. Was Kylo upset as well?

A vein could be seen throbbing in his temple, his chiselled jawline like granite. He certainly wasn’t about to throw her a party.

Rey waited for him to speak. She owed him no explanations.

“Where are you going?” Kylo asked, his voice harsh.

Her bleeding heart began to ache and she told herself to ignore its pull. No good came from her irrational love for this man.

“New York,” she replied, trying to be cool but only succeeding in sounding anxious. “I never told my law firm I was leaving, so as far as they know I’m coming back from my vacation a week early. I suppose the fact that I didn’t officially quit should have made me realise something. Like I already suspected this situation with you wouldn’t work out.” Rey bit her lower lip to stem the flow of words. She was babbling to alleviate her nerves.

“New York?” he repeated dully.

“It’s home,” she said, cheeks flushing.

That was a lie and she knew it. Her whole life she’d never had a real home. Certainly, Kylo’s place was not that either.

She needed to toughen up. Kylo didn’t want her around, plain and simple. There was no point wishing his beautiful mansion meant more to her than a temporary layover.

“Where will you stay? I thought you’d let go of your apartment.”

For once, Rey wished she’d taken up Kylo on his generous offer. He’d suggested he continue to pay her rent for a year but she’d refused, her frugal sensibilities convincing her it was a waste of money. Looking back, she realised he’d been making sure she had a fallback place to run to as well. Damnit.

“I’m staying with a work friend,” Rey said. She saw no point in hiding the facts.

“You could have asked me to find you a new place…”

“I don’t want anything from you.” Rey spoke so sharply she may have drawn blood.

Kylo fell silent, taken aback.

Rey meant every word. She didn’t want to owe Kylo anything. It was hard enough knowing the only reason he had sex with her was because of dark magic. If he gave her expensive gifts or paid her way she would feel like a prostitute. Living in the mansion and eating the food bought by Threepio was acceptable, but having Kylo put her up in what would undoubtedly be a luxury apartment was crossing a line.

“Chewie started interning at the firm the same time I did so we’ve known each other a few years. He has a gorgeous loft apartment thanks to his mother’s last husband. The man was a Greek oil tycoon. It’s only one bedroom but I’ll take the couch until I can find my own place.” There she went, still babbling to ease the tension.

“You’re living with a guy?”

Rey lifted her chin. “Don’t pretend you care,” she said, this time trying for fierce but only managing to sound sad. “Besides, he’s just a friend. Chewie is… he’s easy to be with.”

“As opposed to me?” Kylo asked cynically.

Rey became upset. “You haven’t been here, Kylo,” she said, hands clenching into fists. “I haven’t seen you in three days. You didn’t call or leave a note… I didn’t know where you were or how to reach you. Don’t you understand you’re my only link to this place? I have no other reason to be here.”

“Is this about the meal last week?” Kylo asked.

“Yes,” Rey said, trying to control the wobble in her voice, “but only because you were right- I shouldn’t have cooked dinner. Being with you warps my perspective. I need normalcy and I’ll never have it while I live here.” She impatiently wiped away tears.

“Rey… I acted like a jerk. You did a nice thing for me and I lashed out at you. I should have explained what I was going through... but no, that's not an excuse. I never meant to make you feel unappreciated.” Kylo reached for her and she scrambled backwards, nearly tripping on her suitcase. He looked shocked and she realised it was the first time she’d denied him.

No more. She couldn’t play this game anymore.

“Please don’t touch me,” she said, her voice thin.

“Baby…”

“Don’t!” In her imagination, Rey was able to explain herself without turning hysterical. “I’m sorry about your situation, Kylo, but I can’t live in your house like a ghost.”

“I won’t survive my penance without you,” he said through gritted teeth.

“You’ve been away a while,” Rey pointed out. “Obviously, you don’t need to be with me every night. I’m leaving but I’m not denying you. When things become… urgent, then you can come find me in New York. We’ll need to set up rules about how we go about things. I won’t be at your beck and call.”

“Is that how you see our arrangement, sweetheart?”

Oh, the endearments hurt. It was the one thing he’d given her and not Bazine. Not that it mattered. He didn’t love her no matter what he called her.

“I wish I’d known this was how you felt.”

“Of course, you didn’t know. I’m nothing more than a body you visit at night.” He grimaced but she pushed on. “Your focus is on Baz and that’s as it should be. It will be better for the two of you if I leave…”

“Baz moved out.”

Rey felt the air escape her lungs. “What? When?”

Kylo gave her a strained smile. “Three night ago.”

“Oh.”

That was why he’d been so upset over dinner. That was why he’d disappeared. Bazine had just dumped him.

_It doesn’t matter, you fool!_

_But he’s hurting. His heart is broken._

_What about your broken heart?_

“Are you… is she… are you two still together?”

Kylo shrugged. “The wedding’s off.”

Rey very nearly went to him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, kiss the tender mouth and furrowed brow.

_No, no, no...._

The intercom crackled. “Er, someone call for a cab to the airport?”

She stared at the sleek black box as if it had done something unusual like pop out of the wall and dance. She pressed a button. “Coming.”

Rey turned and picked up her bag. She couldn’t look at the gorgeous man standing before her. She was sorry for all he was going through but nothing she did would change the fact that he would never be _her_ man.

She made it to the door before her case was ripped from her hand. Muscular arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him. Kylo bent forward so his nose was buried in her neck.

“Rey…”

“Please, Kylo.” It was all the words she could get past her swollen throat.

“Don’t go, baby.”

“Is that what you said to Baz?” She was crying again.

“Yes,” he groaned.

“And what did she say?”

“Some equivalent of ‘go fuck yourself’.”

Rey tried to wriggle out of his grasp and Kylo’s arms tightened around her.

“Please, Rey. Stay.”

Rey looked up at him, wedging her chin against the muscles of his arms. “Why?” she asked plaintively. “What reason do I have to remain in this house with you?”

“You care about me. I know you do.”

She flushed. “That’s neither here nor there. You clearly don’t care about me if you’re willing to leave me hanging all these days.”

Kylo swore in a tongue she did not recognise. “I was wrong,” he admitted hoarsely. “All I could think about was Baz and it made me forget my responsibilities. I should have made sure you were okay.”

Rey cringed internally. She was a responsibility to him, no more and no less.

And now she felt selfish. Kylo had just lost his fiancée and she was whining about being ignored.

She said nothing and he sensed her weakness. He claimed her lips, kissing her until she let him in, his tongue teasing and stroking, asking for more. The kiss went on for too long. Rey felt her limbs weaken, her heart twist, the junction of her thighs turn hot and moist.

“There needs to be changes,” she mumbled at last, her lips still being devoured by Kylo’s insistent mouth.

He paused, holding her tight. “Changes? Does that mean you’ll stay?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

He picked her up and crushed her against his chest until she thumped his shoulders with open palms.

“Kylo!” Rey squeaked in protest.

He eased his grip but continued to hold onto her. Her heart melted as she realised he too was hurt and seeking comfort. How could two broken people make this unconventional relationship work? It was impossible.

“I want to know ahead of time if you intend to sleep with me that night.”

He lifted his head, a wry smile on his lips. “Like booking an appointment?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “You’re so damn concerned about lines getting crossed so this is the way to do it. I’m not your girlfriend and you’re not in love with me. Let’s be professional about it.”

“Rey…”

“And I want a way to contact you at all times.”

His eyebrows shot up. “That may be difficult if I’m in Naboo or any one of the shadow realms.”

She frowned “Then I want to be informed of your whereabouts. I don’t care if it’s access to a digital diary. I won’t be kept in limbo.”

“Limbo is not actually a place you’d want to be in for very long…”

“I’m not being funny, Kylo!” Rey said, eyes glistening.

His face sobered and he nodded. “Alright, sweetheart. Anything else?”

“I want a job. If my New York firm lets me go then I’ll try to find something local. I can’t just lay around the pool working on my tan.” Rey realised she’d inadvertently criticised Baz but Kylo didn’t make an issue of it.

He nodded. “Perhaps your legal expertise could be put to use in the running of my estates.”

Rey felt a frission of excitement at the idea. Except was that wise? If things blew up again wouldn’t a job separate from her life at the mansion be the better option? She would have to think about it.

“Is that all?” Kylo sounded so hopeful she almost laughed.

“No, but it will do for now.” She gave him a tentative smile.

Kylo called for Threepio who looked confused when he was ordered to tip a cab driver for his troubles before sending him away. Kylo then grabbed Rey’s bag in one hand, his other arm wrapped around her hips, carrying both back to her room.

She was breathless by the time he’d tossed her case away and dropped her onto a blue silk couch.

“Kylo…” Rey felt her lower lip tremble. His expression was one of intense determination. “Kylo, would you let me unpack? I need time.”

She may as well have not spoken. He knelt before her on the divan, grabbing her face in his big hands and kissing her deeply. Rey was leaning forward melting into him by the time he broke it off.

“I’m gonna take care of you, baby,” he whispered, his voice so low and forceful it sounded like a vow.

“You don’t have to…”

He kissed her again, preventing her from speaking. His hands were on her body, grabbing the hem of her t-shirt and pulling it off over her head, unzipping her skirt and tugging it to her ankles. She wore a sleek little black bra and a plain black thong underneath, devastatingly sexy in their simplicity. She saw desire in his eyes and it threatened to undo her.

_You are not enough for him._

The thought came like a poisoned arrow piercing her haze of lust and need. He was so much, this male, he was everything she had ever desired. And she… she was not enough for him.

He spread her out on the couch, his tongue tasting her moist pink centre, making sure she was wet and ready for him. He lifted her onto her knees and thrust his erection into her clutching cunt, grunting as her slick satin flesh wrapped around his stiff shaft. He set a steady rhythm, invading her body, filling her up with himself. Rey was lost in Kylo’s passion and need.

 _Foolish girl. When has any man loved you completely? Abandoned by the father who died, betrayed by the orphanage director who treated you like trash, disappointed by so many foster fathers who found you a burden._

Rey knew she was truly lost. She would never feel complete or fulfilled until she healed herself. Found herself. How? How could she do that?

Kylo shuddered and groaned, ensuring she climaxed with him. He was a generous lover but she couldn’t mistake that generosity for love. His knot tied her body to his and he laid them both out on their sides. As he so often did, Kylo dozed waiting for his knot to recede and release Rey’s slick form. She lay awake, eyes wide open, also waiting. Waiting for this man to leave her side. Because he didn’t really want her. Didn’t really love her. 

This situation was untenable. They were doomed to fail and she had just signed on for more emotional self-flagellation.

_Bazine is gone._

The thought richoted through her brain. Yes, that was true, but would it make a difference?

It was just Kylo and her now. Surely it would make a difference.

Was she being foolish with her heart? Only time would tell.

Rey took a deep breath and the man in her bed pulled her into his embrace, his touch promising warmth and security. For the first time since they'd begun this affair, Kylo stayed with her throughout the night.


	13. Burn Something

It was easier without Bazine.

Kylo hated the truth of it, but he was nothing if not honest. After seven hundred years of living, what was the point of lying to oneself?

He examined the painful details of his break up with Baz and realised as much as his heart hurt over the loss of her presence, it was his ego that was most bruised. The first woman he’d chosen to spend his life with, the only woman he’d ever proposed to… she’d found him wanting.

True, theirs were extraordinary circumstances, but he was the supreme leader. How was he expected to rule a kingdom when he couldn’t even keep his wife-to-be happy?

And yet… it was easier without Baz’s presence in the mansion. 

The constant pressure he’d battled was gone, the never-ending burden to make sure Baz was appeased after his nightly dalliance with Rey, and Rey wasn’t hurt by his need to chase after Baz. Truly, that was penance. Snoke would have been rolling with laughter had he been able to see the outcome of his magical edict.

Rey was not like Baz. She wasn’t sexy and kittenish, nor demanding and adventurous. She was something else. More restrained. Graceful.

She was studious, which was not a trait he thought he would enjoy. He looked forward to their conversations about Nabooan history and law, about Exegol and its political complexities. She continued to devour books and scrolls from his library, reading tomes so dry he wondered how she hadn’t sunk into a coma from the language alone. Kylo found himself discussing his day to day issues as ruler with Rey. Her views, while naïve, were thoughtful and intriguing.

Rey was caring. Kylo watched her kindness with the servants, engaging them in conversation when she could, acting as a go-between between the staff and him if they were too intimidated to speak to their master. He knew Threepio had been cold towards Rey but she never complained about his treatment of her. Threepio’s first allegiance was to Kylo, however, and when he realised the girl was somehow appeasing his master, his attitude towards Rey improved.

Rey was industrious. She was both clever and educated, and she was always looking for ways to be useful. With Kylo’s permission, Threepio gratefully put her in charge of organising the household accounts. It made Kylo smile to see the chestnut red head bent over a scattering of receipts. He bought her a laptop to help with her work, and despite her chagrin at the expense, she accepted it. Eventually he invited her into his study, giving her a desk of her own. He was glad to see she was touched by the gesture.

She was hospitable, looking after his Royal Guard every time they were at the house. Kylo had to watch his inner beast’s possessive streak as Rey handed hot mugs of coffee to Poe and Snap, made sure Mitaka had his favourite glass of apple and mango juice, gave Finn his preferred chilled bottle of beer and pushed a big mug of hot chocolate into Hux’s reluctant hand. His men grew fond of her, and Finn… Finn was still smitten, damnit.

Kylo knew he was drawing closer to the young woman. How could he not? She lived in his home, after all. He saw her every morning at breakfast and at night… at night their bodies tangled and writhed as if made for each other. 

Twice more the dragon had made an appearance, insisting on laving its studded tongue across Rey’s naked body, reducing her to a quivering, sodden mess, wide-eyed in awe and adoration. Kylo took particular satisfaction pushing his stiff cock into her wet sheathe after those encounters, his hard knot making her cry out in bliss. 

There were moments, seconds in time really, when Kylo wondered if he’d fallen in love with Rey. 

He cared for her already, of that he was sure. His feelings consisted of more than the beast inside of him wanting to dominate the little female and keep her as their own. He sought her smile, her comfort, her pleasure. He wanted to make Rey happy. 

But loving someone was different from being in love… wasn’t it? He wasn’t so sure anymore.

A month went by and then another and another. Many of his clothes were in her wardrobe and most mornings he awoke in her bed, Rey’s small, soft body half squashed beneath his big thighs.

Kylo wondered why he hadn’t invited Rey into his personal suite, making their sleeping arrangements permanent. He was holding back a part of himself.

And then, as if he’d known it would happen all along, Bazine returned. 

She called him out of the blue, more sombre than he’d ever heard her sound, her normally bubbly voice proposing reconciliation. She missed him, she said.

Kylo knew he should have told Rey. He should have let her know straight away. He could have said ‘Baz rang last night—what a shock’, or words to that effect. But he said nothing.

He reasoned that his first meeting with Baz might not lead anywhere. What if Baz saw him and had another temper tantrum, promptly storming out of his life again? Why upset Rey over something that went nowhere?

Baz didn’t have money to travel so he flew her to California, putting her up in the penthouse suite of the Ritz. Kylo had forgotten quite how beautiful she was, the blonde turning heads as they dined at the best restaurant the hotel had to offer. And yet it was a beauty that rang hollow. She didn’t suggest sex straight away, but the next night Baz was waiting for him in lingerie that consisted of a few scraps of lavender lace tied together with black silk ribbon.

Kylo hesitated. He felt guilty, as if… as if he’d be cheating on Rey. Except he wouldn’t be, he told himself. Rey knew the deal. She was the chalice, forced upon him by Snoke. If he’d had his way in the first place he’d be married to Baz and sleeping with both women regardless. And yet, under the guise of going slow, Kylo told Baz he wanted to wait.

He kept his weekends with Baz secret, unwilling to disturb the peace at home. What did it matter whether Rey knew? If his dates with Bazine resulted in a return to their former relationship, then he would have a conversation with Rey. It was fine. 

For the first time in a long time, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren lied to himself.

He was away again. 

Rey missed Kylo like a heartbeat when he wasn’t in the house. She didn’t sleep as well when his big body wasn’t there hogging the bed, but he’d been traveling quite a bit the last month. As much as she didn’t want to think about it, his demeanour had changed, becoming cool and distracted.

For while there she’d thought they were becoming closer… but no, Kylo would never truly be hers. Perhaps this was his way of putting a boundary between them, making sure she remained his lover and not his love. She still hadn’t seen the inside of his bedroom, the place where Baz used to sleep.

Rey shook her head irritably, telling herself to stop mooning over what wasn’t. She couldn’t change Kylo even if she wanted to, and the truth was she didn’t want to. 

She glanced wistfully at the empty chair behind his monster of a desk and turned back to her own paperwork. It was the start of a new month. Time to go through household expenses.

Kylo’s study was quiet and smelled like him, fresh and woodsy, dew and grass. She loved how the ruby dragon marked her with its scent after their lovemaking, the aroma lingering in the air like cologne. The fragrance soothed her. 

Rey hummed softly to herself as she ticked through receipts. The first time she did the accounts she’d been shocked by the amount of money spent on milk and bread alone, but that was before she realised the guard often convened at the mansion after a battle. Those boys could eat.

She reviewed utility bills, noting a spike in the usage of electricity, suspecting that was around basketball finals week. Snap was ridiculously tight fisted and would rather use the mansion’s cinema room to watch games rather than go out to a sports bar with the others. 

Finally, Rey came to a pile of miscellaneous bills. She frowned at the amounts being spent before she realised what she held in her hands.

Proof. 

Proof of Kylo’s activities.

There were bills from the last three weekends for a suite at the Ritz. She knew the hotel, had considered staying there before Baz informed her there was plenty of room in Kylo’s house. Rey found receipts for expensive dinners and lavish gifts, the list including couture gowns, high end lingerie and designer shoes. 

_Oh, no._

Rey heard a sound so wretched it startled her. She realised it had come from her own mouth.

_Dear God, no._

She recognised the brands; La Perla, Jimmy Choo and Chanel. These were some of Baz’s favourites. 

The pretty blonde was back.

Rey pushed herself away from the desk as if those innocent pieces of paper had grown teeth.

Kylo was seeing Baz again. Why hadn’t he told her? Why had he kept Rey in the dark?

Pain hit her in the gut, twisting like a knife. She doubled over and retched, grateful she’d missed lunch so there was nothing to throw up.

Rey stumbled out of the study in a daze. She felt weak and shivery and yet her heart was as heavy as stone. She wanted to scream and cry but that took strength she did not have.

She didn’t want to retreat to her bedroom. The space was filled with Kylo, his scent on her sheets and his clothes in her wardrobe. Hundreds of memories of the two of them intertwined on the bed.

_And now he’s intertwined with Baz… his first and only love._

Rey drew a choked breath, her lungs struggling for air. She pushed past heavy French doors into the back gardens. The night air was softer and easier to manage. Her legs kept going until she stood at the edge of the swimming pool. It was lit from within, the waters a cool, reflective blue. 

Not even pausing to consider her actions, Rey dove in.

Her mint green sweater and faded blue jeans absorbed water, her ankle boots filling up as well, soaking her feet. She sank to the bottom, her ponytail floating behind her like a ribbon. At last, hot tears spilled from her eyes, disappearing into the depths of the pool like they’d never been.

Rey crossed her legs and sat on the blue tiled floor. She was glad to be enveloped by water. After a couple of minutes, her lungs began to burn but she ignored the pain. As oxygen continued to leave her body, black spots appeared before her eyes. Still, she did not return to the surface. The physical discomfort was preferable to her shattered heart.

There was a sudden cascade of bubbles as something dropped into the water beside her. Rey’s eyes went wide when she met Hux’s furious gaze. He gripped her by one arm and pulled her to the surface. She gasped and choked as he dragged her out of the pool, unable to fight his preternatural strength.

As soon as she’d stopped coughing and spluttering, Hux grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “What in the name of Coruscant’s spires are you doing?” he snarled.

 _That’s a new one,_ Rey thought idly. She’d heard a fair amount of Nabooan swearing from Kylo in the past, but not that particular phrase.

Kylo… Just the thought of him hurt.

“I—I don’t know,” Rey said, looking away from Hux. “Why are you here?”

The Royal Guard released her, sitting down on wet tiles beside Rey. “I watch over you when I can,” he admitted stiffly.

“Why?” Rey asked, anything to keep her mind from returning to the pain of Kylo’s betrayal.

Hux frowned at her. “You’re my king’s consort, Rey. You must be protected.” Rey said nothing and the other man’s face grew troubled. He waited for her to speak. When she didn’t, he asked reluctantly, “What’s wrong?”

“Did you ever think you’re going about this the wrong way?” Rey said, lifting bruised hazel eyes to his emerald gaze. “If—if Kylo’s penance requires a chalice, perhaps when I’m removed he won’t have a sentence to serve.”

Hux raised a winged black brow. “What do you mean by that?”

“Instead of protecting me,” she said dreamily, “maybe if you got rid of me it would break the magical bond.”

He looked confused. “How would I get rid of you?”

“It’s really for the best,” she said, almost happy now. “If I died, Kylo would be free and I… I would be at peace.”

“You’re proposing I kill you?” Hux asked, thunderstruck.

“It would be for the best,” Rey assured him.

He stared at her. “You would die for Kylo?”

Rey looked at Hux with sad eyes. “I think I already have.”

He swore colourfully again. “Enough, little one. I’m taking you to bed.”

Hux picked her up and Rey gave a half-hearted kick, too wretched to do anything but allow him to carry her to her room. He deposited her in front of her door but she hesitated to go inside.

“Go on now,” Hux said with unnatural gentleness. “Have a hot shower and go to bed.”

“I don’t belong here,” she said, her voice so soft he almost didn’t hear.

“Rey…”

But she finally seemed to come out of her daze, giving him a nod as she reached for her bedroom door. “Goodbye, Hux.” She locked it behind her.

This time, she didn’t pack her suitcase. 

Rey changed into dry clothes and filled a canvas tote with fresh underwear and her wallet. She suspected Hux would be watching her door so she climbed out the window instead. Her balcony was next to a towering oak and she managed to scramble down its trunk with only a couple of smudges of dirt on her dress.

Rey was grateful she’d memorised the security codes for the property. She let herself out with a few taps of a keypad. The nearest town was an hour’s walk and she’d find herself a bus or taxi once she was there.

Rey no longer cared where she was going just as long as it was far, far away.


	14. Run For Miles

Kylo stood before Bazine, wondering why her supermodel body clad in a red lace teddy only brought to mind memories of Rey wrapped in a red lace gown. 

He realised with a start that he didn’t want to be there with her, not anymore. Somewhere in the course of the last several months he’d become a different man, wanting different things. 

Kylo had forgotten just how materialistic Baz could be. Her behaviour was in stark contrast to Rey, whose arm he’d had to twist to accept a laptop she only used to run his estates and assist Threepio with the household accounts. Baz, on the other hand, was happy to purchase expensive clothes and jewellery on Kylo’s card as if it was her right. He’d grown cynical about why the sensual blonde had really returned.

Turning Bazine down would be the definite end of their relationship. He squared his shoulders to speak his mind when the phone rang. He glanced at the number and his heart stuttered. The last time Hux called Rey had been about to walk out of his life.

“Yeah?” he greeted his guard, uncaring of the scowl that appeared on Baz’s expertly made up face.

“Come home,” Hux snarled.

“Excuse me?” Kylo snapped back.

“It’s Rey,” the other man said, his tone dark. “Hurry.”

Kylo hung up and turned to leave. He didn’t say goodbye to Baz, missing the dawning realisation on the blonde’s face that she was no longer the most important thing in his life.

He burned rubber getting back to the mansion. A list of things that could have gone wrong scrolled through his brain and he was nearly manic with concern by the time he burst through the front doors.

Kylo found Hux outside Rey’s bedroom, his arms crossed over his chest, face like a storm cloud.

“What the hell, Hux?” Kylo said, lowering his voice lest he disturb Rey whom he assumed was inside.

Hux was equal to him when it came to blunt honesty. “Something’s wrong with Rey. I found her in the pool half an hour ago.”

“She went swimming—so what?”

“No, Kylo. In the pool, fully dressed, making an impressive effort to drown herself.”

“What?” Kylo gaped.

“By the time I pulled her out there was water in her lungs…”

“Is she…”

“She’s fine,” Hux snapped. “Physically anyway. That was when she asked me to kill her.”

Kylo felt his brain circuits fry. “Hux,” he said, his voice dangerously low, “what did you do?”

His friend gave him an irritable look. “I told her dry off and go to bed. I’ve been watching the door ever since and she hasn’t come out.”

Kylo swallowed his ire. This wasn’t Hux’s fault, he told the roiling beast inside him, but he needed to find out what had triggered Rey.

“What was she doing tonight?” Kylo asked. “Did she receive a phone call? Who did she talk to?”

“She came from your study.”

Kylo left Hux at his post and made his way to his office. He had a bad feeling about this. 

He noticed Rey’s polished mahogany desk straight away because it was covered with a mess of papers. She was usually meticulously tidy. She’d been overwhelmed with emotion when he’d presented her with her own workspace, caring for it as if it were an heirloom.

He realised now the pleasure he’d derived looking up from his security reports and council complaints to see her freckled face poring over a laptop or book. Sometimes he’d catch her chewing on a pen and he’d be overcome with the urge to kiss her apple scented mouth. He hoped she never changed the lip balm she used. He’d purchase cases of the stuff if that was what it took. 

So many time he’d interrupted his own work to bury his head between her thighs or bend her over a couch and pound her roughly from behind. She was always so receptive, so open, greedy for more of him. It had swelled his ego, made him complacent about their relationship. 

Yes, he very much enjoyed having the little female in his life and he’d taken for granted she would always be there.

Kylo picked up the top most document and saw it was a credit card statement. His heart sank as he read the list of expenses.

Damnit all to Mustafar. He was the one who’d done this to her.

He returned to Rey’s bedroom, startling Hux by banging on the locked door. “Rey, let me in. We need to talk,” he yelled.

There was no response.

He knocked and hollered for another minute before he lost patience and shouldered his way in, turning the wood frame to splinters.

The room was empty, her window wide open. Behind him Hux was speaking but Kylo didn’t hear a word. There was roaring between his ears and in seconds his avatar consumed his flesh.

A great ruby dragon broke out the window, taking flight with a beat of heavy wings. 

She’d been walking for nearly an hour now. Rey was exhausted and contemplated calling a ride, but the map function on her phone told her she’d reach the township in ten minutes. She could hold out a little longer.

She needed to conserve her money. She doubted her old firm would take her back after she’d unceremoniously quit on them and looking for a job might take a while. She should call her friends and key up a place to stay. 

She was ashamed of her words to Hux. Had she really asked him to end her life? No relationship was worth that. 

Kylo’s infidelity was a commentary on how unlovable she felt. Her mother had rejected her and her father had abandoned her in death. Her foster parents were merely stop gaps so she didn’t end up homeless and starving. No one had ever truly loved her and she had to face the facts that no one ever would. 

She would be fine. She was young and smart and had a law degree, for crying out loud. She would survive. Even if her food tasted like ashes and the air weighed heavy without Kylo by her side, she would live.

Rey heard a growl followed by a skittering of pebbles. She was on a meandering path choked with rocks and trees. So far she hadn’t paid much attention to anything except placing one foot in front of the other. She paused and looked around, wondering if there was a stray dog on her heels. She saw nothing and kept moving.

Now that she was listening for inconsistencies, she heard them. Sounds that didn’t quite match up with her own sneakered feet. Something was following her, a man or creature with a heavier tread. Rey cast her eyes about and picked up a gnarled tree branch, brittle with exposure to the salt air but still better than nothing.

“Who’s there?” she called out.

The shuffling noises went quiet for a second. Rey swore she could hear a mumbled conversation before two creatures came charging out of the bushes.

She gasped upon seeing their distinctly inhuman faces. Both had thick porcine features with muddy skin, as pierced as any goth rocker but not with jewellery. Instead, bushy eyebrows and the ridges of their noses were decorated with sharp splinters of yellowing bone. Tusks grew on either side of their pudgy cheeks, the razor sharp tips discoloured with gore. Thick yellow teeth peeked out of over-wide mouths and their ear lobes hung nearly to their shoulders. Their clothes were made from badly cured leather hides, their shoes pieces of leather that had been tied on with twine. They must have been ten feet tall and three times her breadth, their big frames casting long shadows.

“Who- who are you? What do you want?” Rey gasped. 

In her study of both Naboo and Exegol she had seen watercolours and drawings of many different creatures. She feared these two were orcs.

Orcan tribes most often caused trouble for Kylo and his Royal Guard. They were violent and greedy, with enough reasoning to make them a serious threat. Their magic lay in their skins. They were impervious to most spells and preternaturally strong.

“Girl come with us,” one of them grunted, a fresh piercing in his brow causing it to bleed, yellow fluid dripping down his cheek.

“Why?” Rey asked.

“Snoke wants girl,” his companion declared, a lumpy bruise on his cheek making his face appear lopsided.

Bleeder smacked Bruiser on his arm. “Secret mission,” he growled.

And that was when Rey knew she was in real trouble. She started to back up, raising her stick even though she had no idea how to defend herself with it. Her best bet was to return to the mansion but she was simply too far away. She couldn’t lead these two into a human township, could she?

Bleeder noticed her movements and took several steps forward to correct the situation. Rey could smell his rancid breath, like rotting meat and decay. 

“Look, why doesn’t Snoke give the supreme leader a call and they can work out a time for him to see me?” Rey suggested affably.

Bruiser frowned as if considering her words but Bleeder reached out to grab her. Rey reacted on instinct, swinging her stick and knocking him across the face. It was like hitting the side of a building. His new bone piercing became dislodged, falling to the ground, but otherwise the orc remained unharmed.

Bleeder snatched the tree branch from Rey’s hands. He closed his meaty fist and snapped it in half. “Girl come now.”

Rey raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, alright, slow down there…”

Bleeder let out a snort. “Girl talk too much.”

He swung his hand, as big as a boulder. It was the last thing Rey remembered for a long while.

“Where is she?” Kylo’s roar sent a flock of birds scattering into the air.

“My lord, you need to control yourself,” Poe said, his voice as hard as the gravel beneath their feet.

Kylo looked at him with eyes that glowed red.

Once it became clear he couldn’t locate Rey, it had taken all his strength to return to his human form. His dragon avatar quavered with rage, still demanding to be let out. Rey was in danger, he was sure of it.

Hux had called the Royal Guard and they now stood around him, their expressions ranging from concern to puzzlement.

“Are you sure she hasn’t made it onto an airplane, Kylo?” Only Finn would dare ask such a question in the supreme leader’s current state.

“I have Threepio looking into it,” Kylo admitted, “but there’s no way she was able to reach town before me. Rey has disappeared.” Snap exchanged questioning glances with Mitaka and Kylo bristled. “Search the area. This was the last place where the dragon scented her before her trail vanished. Something’s wrong, I know it.”

His men spread out in instant obedience. Kylo was little soothed by their military precision as they began combing the rough path that ran adjacent to the main road leading into town. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

The ruby dragon was so enraged he was struggling to focus on anything around him, but he trusted his men. They were loyal and faithful. More than that, they were friends… brothers. Their individual faces reflected the concern he felt.

Thank the realms for Hux’s fanatical duty of care. His decision to watch over Rey when he wasn’t on assignment meant they had a head start on whatever had taken place here. As soon as Rey was safe, he would make sure the guard received a royal commendation. Or a new dagger.

“My lord…”

Kylo walked over to Poe who was crouched low on the ground. “What is it?” he asked impatiently. He scanned the earth and noticed the anomaly himself; a fallen branch that had been crushed in its centre.

“This would have taken considerable force,” Poe said, his voice carrying to the others. “No human hand could have accomplished it.”

Hux darted forward, long fingers picking up a piece of bone nearly camouflaged by its rocky surroundings. He licked its surface. “Orcan blood.”

Poe raised an impressed eyebrow. “Looks like Rey took a swing at her attacker.”

“That’s my girl,” Kylo said with a fierce grin.

“What orc would dare linger outside the supreme leader’s home?” Mitaka asked, looking stunned.

Kylo could feel his dragon heart begin to pound against his ribcage. “I didn’t smell them,” he murmured.

“What did you say?” Finn asked.

Frowning, Kylo raised his voice. “I didn’t smell the orcs, only Rey. Their scent must be concentrated in this one area.”

Snap shook his head. “How is that possible? The closest portal to the shadow realms lies ten miles away. They would have left traces of themselves along the way. Orcs are not known for their subtlety.”

“Besides which,” Finn spoke up, “the portal is guarded at all times and our soldiers have reported no breaches in security.”

“Not many beings have the ability to create their own portals.” Poe was looking at Kylo with deep meaning. “The last time I witnessed such magic it was at the hands of the Supreme Leader of Naboo. I’m guessing his counterpart has that same power.”

“Snoke,” Kylo snarled, grasping Poe’s implication immediately.

The Emperor of Exegol was the only one with enough magic to grant lowly orcs the ability to transport themselves onto earth’s soil and then back again. He explained this to his men.

“Why would the Sith do such a thing?” Mitaka wondered out loud. “Why give so great a skill to orcs of all creatures? Is he planning an attack?”

“No,” Kylo said heavily. “I do not believe this was an army that Rey stumbled across by accident. I think it was a handful of creatures sent on a very specific mission.”

Kylo returned to the black van Finn had parked on the roadside. His men had remembered to bring him clothes for when he transformed back to human form, but Kylo only wore his leather britches, uncaring of his own comfort.

They headed to the mansion as quickly as Finn could manage, Snap turning a delicate shade of green as his fellow soldier took tight corners like a street racer. As soon as they’d barrelled through the mansion’s iron gates, Kylo led his men to the basement armoury.

The hidden structure came alive with fluorescent white lights as they walked inside. It was an intimidating place with cages of weapons, both modern and archaic. Those cages had electronic security panels coded to the palm prints of everyone present except Mitaka. The youngster had yet to earn his stripes.

Kylo shook his head upon seeing the vast array of swords and guns and more exotic items. “I’m forbidden from taking metals through the portal to Exegol, and while some of our guns have been crafted from high tech plastic, I’m not sure I want to cross that line.”

“What are you saying?” Finn asked. “We can’t leave Rey to Snoke’s mercy.”

“I know that!” Kylo flared, the roar of the dragon thickening his voice. He took a deep breath to calm his rage. “I know what I have to do,” he told his Royal Guard. “I pray I have the strength to do it.”

“My lord?” Mitaka asked, looking confused.

“We should storm Snoke’s castle,” Finn muttered, “if that slimy pile of rocks can be called such.”

Snap looked shocked. “That will mean war. The Accords strictly prohibit…”

“I know, Snap, which is why I will go alone,” Kylo interrupted him. There was an immediate outcry from his Royal Guard and Kylo held up a hand to silence them. “I made a mistake when I last approached Snoke. I revealed to him that the dragon was out of control. I assumed it was because of the magics binding me to my penance but it was nothing of that sort. Only afterwards was it revealed that my avatar was reacting with uncharacteristic passion because it cared for Rey. Somehow the beast saw her worth long before I did.”

Kylo fell silent as his own words penetrated his thoughts. He’d been such a fool.

“Are you saying Snoke deliberately took the girl to upset the dragon?” Mitaka asked.

Hux spoke first, as if puzzling it out for himself. “The Sith is cunning but he is no mind reader.”

“Agreed,” Kylo said. “Snoke probably desires more information about my weakness and will question Rey. If the dragon truly is out of control then Naboo is vulnerable. Rey was chosen as chalice because she is part Succubus and I believe that is also why he kidnapped her. If I discovered the act and raised a protest, Snoke could still claim he was within his rights to call a denizen of Exegol before his throne.”

“He is a crafty old shade,” Hux said, his tone dark.

Poe spoke up hesitantly. “Do you think the Sith knows…”

“How I feel about Rey? No, I don’t believe he has a clue.”

“And how do you feel about Rey?”

Kylo bit back an oath as a female voice rang across the polished cement and steel storage area. Bazine descended the stairs, a huffing and apologetic Threepio in her wake. She was stunning with her golden blonde curls and blazing blue eyes, her curvaceous body ripe in a hot pink minidress.

“I love her,” Kylo said, abrupt and to the point. The shock on Baz’s face would have been comical if he wasn’t desperate to explore a plan of action with his guard. “I love Rey. I’m sorry I didn’t realise it earlier, Bazine. It would have saved us all a whole lot of pain and suffering.”

“How dare you?” the blonde screeched. “All those things you said to me about wanting to make me happy…”

“Was a mistake,” he told her. “Thank the realms I realised the truth. The best thing you ever did was leave me. I was so obsessed with not being a failure, I never considered the idea that some things fail for a reason. You and I were never meant to be, Baz. And yet if it wasn’t for you, I would have never met Rey.”

The pretty blonde stepped forward and delivered a stinging slap. His guard bristled but Kylo was unmoved. “I suppose I deserved that,” he murmured.

Bazine turned and stormed off, her face livid.

Kylo glanced at Mitaka. “Take care of it, will you?”

The younger man straightened up. “How much of her memory should I erase?”

“Everything to do with the shadow realms. Bazine cannot be left with any information about Naboo or Exegol.”

Mitaka nodded, determinedly going after the blonde woman.

“Right,” Kylo said, turning back to the rest of his men, some of whom were smirking. “We need a plan that ensures we don’t start a war. Gentlemen, ideas?”


	15. Beats Me Black And Blue

When Rey came to her head was pounding and there was a taste of copper pennies in her mouth. She tried to open her eyes but the light seemed to shine straight into her pupils to the back of her brain, making her wince.

She let her lashes flutter close and concentrated instead on her sore mouth. She prodded with her tongue and instantly tasted fresh blood.

_Yuck._

Recent events filtered back into her memory. She’d been knocked out by a fist as bulky as a club. She suspected she’d bitten down on the soft inside of her mouth when she hit the ground.

Stupid orcs. She’d been looking forward to meeting pureblood denizens of the shadow realms but those two had dimmed her enthusiasm somewhat.

Rey tried to move and found her limbs refusing to cooperate. That was when she finally became alarmed. She forced her eyes open, the dimly lit cavern reasonably kind to her swirling brain. She recognised rugged rock walls and luminescent goop that dripped in thick rivulets to pool and congeal at her feet.

What the hell was she doing in Exegol?

Her wrists and ankles were bound to a stone slab tilted at a forty-five degree angle. It wasn’t so much uncomfortable as it was awkward. Despite the thin cotton dress she wore, the combined heat and humidity in the chamber was making her sweat.

“You’re awake, sssweetling,” a sibilant voice spoke.

Rey started but didn’t move, held down as she was by thick, rusting chains. Snoke emerged from the gloom, his mottled body perfectly camouflaged by his surroundings. He was naked, she realised, his body more serpent than man, lean and sinewy. He was smooth between his legs, seemingly sexless like a reptile.

“Your majesty,” Rey said, her voice a croak. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Why have you brought me here?”

Snoke made a face that could have passed for a smile. “You are brave, youngling. Or is it ignorance that bolsters your confidence?”

She shook her head. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you have me at a disadvantage. Why kidnap me? Why not tell the supreme leader that you wished to see me?” Snoke said nothing and Rey kept talking, trying to figure things out. “Unless you don’t want him to know you’re speaking to me.”

The Sith’s yellow eyes flashed with sudden anger that belied his cool exterior. “You are expendable, Rey daughter of Kira,” he hissed. “While you live, your position as chalice is secure… but only while you live.”

His words brought back her brief conversation with Hux by the side of the pool. “So if I die, another will be appointed?”

Snoke frowned at her. “You do not appear displeased by the idea. Are things not going well with Lord Ren?”

She looked away from that cold, analytical gaze, considering her own response. “He does not want me. It is difficult trying to please a male who loves another.”

As far as Rey was concerned she spoke the truth, but it also probably wasn’t a bad idea for Snoke to believe she held little worth to Kylo. If the emperor had kidnapped her as collateral, for example, it would be better if he thought the supreme leader did not care for her.

Rey felt a pang of rebuke from her own conscience. Kylo _did_ care for her. He might not love her like her loved Bazine, but his actions over the past few months had been nothing but kind. She only wished he hadn’t lied to her. Of all the hurts she expected to come out of their unorthodox relationship, betrayal was not one of them.

“I heard the wedding was cancelled,” Snoke said, watching her curiously. “It was an opportune time for you to ingratiate yourself with Ren.”

Rey stared at Snoke. “You cannot make a man love you.”

“Ah, I see,” the Sith murmured. “It is his love you seek.”

“What else?” Rey snapped.

“Your mother would have been happy with lustful obsession.”

“Then I am not my mother’s daughter.”

“Yesss… a pity.”

Rey scowled at the ruler of Exegol. She grew angry at his condescension.

Her brain told her to relax, take it easy. According to her studies Snoke was over two thousand years old. His age alone would bring with it incredible knowledge, and from everything Kylo had said to her in their many discussions about the politics of the shadow realms, Snoke’s cunning knew no bounds.

Certainly, Rey was nothing more than a pawn in the emperor’s machinations.

Snoke had waited for the perfect time to exact the supreme leader’s penance, ensuring the fallout hurt Kylo as much as possible. The loss of the woman he loved could have been crippling to a lesser man. So whatever the reason Rey was now here, it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.

“What can I do for you, your majesty?” she asked Snoke. The sooner they got this over with the quicker she could return home.

Home. Her heart twisted inside her chest. For a short while the mansion had felt like home- Threepio a fatherly presence, the Royal Guard a group of rambunctious older brothers and Kylo himself… her partner. Rey knew one thing for sure; even if that was lost to her, she still wanted to get out of this situation alive.

“Tell me, sweetling,” Snoke hissed, drawing closer to her bound form, “have you seen the ruby dragon?”

Rey blinked. Was that a trick question? They had all seen the beast. “Um… yes.”

“So it still appears when summoned?”

The penny dropped.

The red dragon was the fiercest weapon in Kylo’s arsenal. It was the reason why his Royal Guard were so few in number. They were all specialists in their craft, equipped with different magics that combined to make them an unstoppable force. And if brute strength was ever required, all Kylo had to do was call upon his avatar.

Rey realised Snoke was staring at her. She’d taken too long to reply.

“Yes,” she replied quickly, “the beast is Lord Ren’s to command.”

“Hmmm, what else do you know, youngling?”

Rey shook her head. “I- I don’t know what you mean.”

“No? You’re holding something back. That night when we first met, Ren indicated his control of the red dragon was slipping. What was he referring to?”

Rey felt her pulse spike. Kylo hadn’t known it yet but his avatar had been responding to her. It still thrilled and bemused her that she held sway over a real life dragon.

Oh, no- Snoke could never find out. If he discovered the truth, who knew what he would do with the knowledge?

“I’m not privy to that information, your majesty.”

A long, thin tongue flickered out as if tasting the air. “What a shame,” he murmured, and Rey felt her rigid spine begin to relax, “that you are such a bad liar.” Her breath caught in her throat as Snoke raised his hand in a lazy wave. “Time for more rigorous measures.”

In the end, Kylo transported himself and Poe into the caverns Snoke called home.

His men were furious he was leaving the rest of them behind, but subtlety was the key to this mission. Anakin and his ancestors had fought hard to establish the Accords. He’d be damned if his rule saw the end of that peace, no matter how badly his avatar wished to wreak havoc in its search for Rey.

Rey. It destroyed him to know she was in Snoke’s grasp, or at the very least under the control of Orcan hunters. Kylo didn’t know what he would do if he found her hurt or…

The red dragon screeched its pain, filling his head with noise, turning his eyes blood red. No, he couldn’t think about losing Rey. The outcome would be catastrophic.

Kylo had always respected his inner beast but he wondered what would happen if he truly lost control of the dragon. Anakin left behind a final legacy of bloodshed and he did not want that to be him. And now that he’d realised Rey’s true value to him, he couldn’t bear the idea of losing her.

He had to find her.

Using Poe’s ability to teleport short distances, the supreme leader and his guard began searching the underground caverns. There were myriad rooms to go through and they did so painstakingly. More than once they stumbled across Snoke’s satyr guards with their horned heads and cloven feet. They managed to hide in the shadows all but one time. On that occasion, they knocked out a trio of Satyrs with efficient brutality.

They finally overheard two soldiers discussing a biped female being kept behind Snoke’s throne room. Kylo exchanged glances with Poe who nodded once. It took them a few more tries before they found her.

Kylo’s heart nearly stopped beating when he spotted Rey. She looked so small and frail chained down to a stone table. Her eyes were shut and she wasn’t moving. The red dragon protested its man-shaped limitations, ruby scales rippling in a wave down his throat and arms. Kylo focused hard, letting his avatar know he was of more use to Rey right now than the beast.

He stepped forward, sliding a hand around Rey’s throat, looking for a pulse. To his relief, her eyes fluttered open. Clear hazel eyes fixed on his face. For a moment, she said nothing and Kylo attempted a reassuring smile. When at last she spoke, her words were a surprise.

“Oh, great. Who conjured you up?”

Kylo blinked at Rey’s annoyed expression. “Excuse me?”

“Are you Snoke’s way of chipping at my defences or a product of my fevered brain?”

“Rey, what are you talking about?” This was not the reception he’d expected.

“Either way, you can leave,” she said irritably. “I’m doing fine by myself.”

Kylo glanced helplessly at Poe. The other man stepped forward and Rey looked at him in astonishment.

“You too? That’s strange. Hux would have made more sense at this point.”

Kylo couldn’t help himself- he bit back a reluctant grin at Poe’s affronted expression. He ran his hand over the back of Rey’s head and she winced as he found the sore spot where she’d been hit.

“She seems relatively uninjured,” Kylo murmured to his guard.

 _“Ow,”_ Rey snapped, glaring at him. “I’m not sure how a delusion is able to hurt me. Snoke’s very good.”

“The emperor probably hopes to return her once he has the necessary information,” Poe said, ignoring Rey. “That way we are none the wiser.”

Kylo frowned. “If Snoke discovers Rey is triggering the dragon she’ll become his prisoner for good.”

“Hey, what’s with the conversation on repeat? I already thought this through, remember? I don’t need you two figments of my imagination telling me what I already know.” Rey appeared distinctly grumpy. “You’re giving me a headache. Again.”

Kylo bent down and kissed her on sulky lips. “Baby, it’s really me. I’ve come to rescue you.”

She stiffened under his touch. “Kylo?”

He nodded. “Are you okay, Rey?”

A multitude of emotions crossed her delicate face, most of which were negative. Kylo had a feeling he’d be grovelling for a long time when it came to this woman.

“I’m fine,” she said at last. “But as you two have worked out, Snoke is trying to be subtle with my kidnapping. I discovered just recently that he killed the two orcs who brought me here. Probably because they left a wound on my head.”

“How does he expect to keep this matter hidden?” Poe asked, examining the chains wrapped around her ankles.

“Snoke has all these potions at his disposal,” Rey replied. “He’s already given me the extract of a Sphinx’s marrow in an effort to loosen my tongue, which is just disgusting, by the way. I’m sure there’s something else to wipe out my memories.” Her gaze flicked back to Kylo. “Snoke wants to know if you’ve lost control of the dragon.”

He nodded. “I was unwise bringing it up that night in his throne room.”

“You’ve underestimated your enemy, Kylo,” she said urgently. “Snoke is not content with his lot as some believe. He wants it all, to rule both Exegol and Naboo. If he thinks you’re vulnerable he will attack. Eventually, he will set his sights on the human world.”

“Has the dragon been the only barrier to the Sith entering into another war?” Kylo wondered.

Rey shook her head. “Not just the dragon- your family’s powers. The abilities you have are passed down from one generation to the next. By enforcing the act of penance, Snoke has not only destabilised your personal life, but he’s prevented you from producing an heir.”

“Why—”

“Because you’re stronger than you realise, as was your grandfather before you and your child to come. You’re the only creature in the shadow realms who is a true match for the emperor.” Rey looked up at him impatiently. “Snoke may be ambitious but he is not impulsive. He will wait another thousand years rather than endanger his own life by exposing himself to your wrath.”

Kylo stared at her. “You’ve learnt a lot in the short time you’ve been here.”

“It’s amazing how men expose themselves by their words and actions,” Rey said, glaring at him. “Even the magical ones.”

Kylo opened his mouth to reply but Poe interrupted them. “We really need to go,” he said sharply. “These chains are more than iron, there is a magic coursing through them that may take a while to undo.”

“Let me,” Kylo growled. He raised a hand that was now all dragon’s claw, sparkling red scales and thick black talons.

“No!” Rey gasped.

He stared at her. “Rey, what are you…”

“I’m nearly there,” she told him. “I’ve been babbling non-stop for the last two hours about the dragon’s strength and beauty. The Sphinx solution is a truth serum of sorts and I haven’t had to lie. The beast may be protective of me, but the fact is you haven’t lost control of him. Nothing I’ve said is what Snoke wants to hear.”

“What do you need?” Kylo demanded.

“Leave me,” Rey told him. “Snoke won’t keep me past nightfall lest you react. I’m guessing he’ll dump me outside the mansion gates looking like the victim of a mugging or some such, my memories all jumbled.”

“Rey, no,” he snarled. “I’m here to rescue you.”

“I don’t need rescuing!” She yelled the last statement, her eyes filling with tears.

“Sweetheart…”

“I am not your sweetheart,” she continued tearfully. “Stop lying to me, Kylo. I would rather the truth than some condescending version of what you think is kindness.”

He swallowed hard, his clawed hand transforming back to a human one. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry that I hurt you, Rey.”

She fiercely blinked back tears. “Now is not the time, Kylo. I’m asking you to trust me to protect you and your avatar. I can do this.”

“I can’t walk away from you,” he declared. “If we miscalculate Snoke’s intentions and you’re hurt or… or worse…”

“Isn’t that better than plunging your entire nation into war?” she asked.

Clever girl. She had already seen the angles, understood the significance of the Sith’s actions. Kylo was no ordinary man and Snoke no average shadow creature. Their very titles meant a single mistake could end the world as they knew it. Having read all those scrolls and books on Nabooan history, Rey understood this as much as anyone else.

Kylo groaned, a sound so pained Rey’s eyes widened in shock. “I would rather a war with you by my side than peacetime with only your memory.”

Her lower lip quivered and dropped open. “I- I don’t understand.”

Kylo knew she was trying to reconcile his words with her newly discovered infidelity. “Rey, I can’t lose you.”

“It’ll be okay, Kylo. Snoke told me if I die another female will be appointed as chalice.”

“That’s not what I meant! Rey, I can’t lose _you.”_

She continued to watch him as if he’d grown a second head. It infuriated him that his behaviour had caused her to question how he felt for her. He’d done this. He’d damaged their relationship. He would spend the rest of his life putting it back together. If she lived.

“I’m getting you out of here…”

“My lord,” Poe spoke up.

Kylo had nearly forgotten the presence of his guard.

“Kylo,” Poe said again, “you brought me with you for a reason, now use me. I agree with Rey. This is a risk we should take to protect our people and the Accords.”

Kylo’s temper flared. “How dare you…”

“I dare because I know what it is to watch the love of my life die.” Poe swallowed hard. “I will never recover from the loss of my wife and unborn child, but I know Zorri would not want me to turn into a wraith in my grief.”

Kylo was stunned into silence. It was the first time Poe had mentioned his tragic past since their bloody interview all those decades ago.

“I swear upon my own life, Kylo, I will keep your woman safe. You need to return home so Snoke will not inadvertently detect your magical trail. If it looks like Rey is in danger, I will step in. I may not be able to teleport us back onto earth, but I’ll still be able to get us away.”

Kylo turned from Poe’s earnest dark gaze to Rey’s compassionate hazel eyes. “It’s okay,” she said, a smile on her lips. “Let me save you.”

“You already have,” he murmured, his voice breaking.

Kylo kissed Rey hard, memorising her feel and taste. He who was fearless in battle was afraid now.

“I’ll see you at home,” he said, glad she did not protest his use of the word.

Kylo nodded at Poe before calling upon the portal to his study. He stepped through, his eyes still focused on Rey’s sweet face.


	16. Love On The Brain

Snoke kept Rey another two hours. Poe remained hidden in a hollow behind a slimy cavern wall and filled in whatever blanks Kylo could not. Apparently Rey had babbled on about the majesty and perfection of the supreme leader until the emperor wanted to gag her.

As they suspected, once the Sith was convinced by Rey’s own words that Kylo still commanded his powerful avatar, Snoke returned her to the mansion gates more or less in one piece. She was forced to drink a potion made from the ooze coating Snoke’s unconventional palace walls. It seemed they contained hallucinogens that muddled memories if taken in the right doses.

Rey awoke in a room she did not recognise. The space smelled of a verdant forest after the rain and she knew at once that it belonged to Kylo.

“Are you okay?”

She turned her head to see him seated in an armchair, watching her from a corner of the dark room. Rey gave him a bemused smile.

“Is this your bedroom?”

“Yes,” he replied quietly. “How do you feel?”

Rey snuggled into wonderful smelling sheets. “Tired,” she admitted, “but good. What happened?”

“Snoke kidnapped you,” Kylo said, his tone hard.

Rey turned to stare at him. “Why?”

“For information.”

Her eyes widened. “Did I say anything…”

“No, sweetheart… Rey. No. You were wonderful. You told Snoke everything he _didn’t_ want to hear.”

She gave a bright smile. “Oh? Good.”

“Do you remember anything from your time in Exegol?”

She slowly shook her head, seeing the concern on his face.

"I had Druid Skywalker waiting on standby and he came as soon as we found you at the gates. He burned some blackened leaves and waved the smoke all over you. He thinks your energy will return in a few days and even hoped he was quick enough to prevent any loss of memories."

Rey tried to take that in. “How long was I gone?”

“Half a day,” Kylo said.

She frowned. “Is that all? Not much of a kidnapping.”

“Snoke was being careful. He didn’t want to cause a war unless he knew he could win it.”

Rey hugged a pillow that smelled like Kylo closer to herself. “What was he looking for?”

“He was checking on the health of the red dragon.”

“Ah. Good thing he’s as right as rain.” Rey sat up. “He is, isn’t he?”

She watched Kylo’s throat ripple with raised ruby scales and the big man smiled. “The beast is well now that you’re home.”

“Home.” Rey spoke the word wistfully. “I’ve never really had one, you know.”

Kylo stiffened on his seat. It surprised her he still hadn’t come close and she held out her hand. Reluctantly, he left his chair and sat by the bedside. She shifted her head so it lay on his lap. His uneasy expression grew.

“How much of yesterday do you remember?” he asked.

She shrugged narrow shoulders. “Very little. I was supposed to work on the household accounts, I think. Was I taken from your study? That’s bold. How did Snoke pull that one off? Surely he would have realised…”

“Rey.”

She stopped speaking, turning her eyes back to his face. She felt her heartbeat quicken. “What is it?”

“I need to tell you something.”

He pulled her into a sitting position, running his hands over her loose chestnut red hair. Rey grew uneasy. It took a lot for Kylo’s tender side to reveal itself.

“What’s wrong?”

“Yesterday you found out something about me. An ugly truth. For the last three weekends I’ve been meeting Baz in town.”

Rey’s face grew still. “You told me you were going away for work.”

Kylo dropped his head. “I lied. I’m so sorry.”

She sighed. “Yep. Still hurts.”

He lifted his amber eyes, searching her pale face. “You remember.”

“I wanted to see if you’d try to deceive me all over again,” she said with a trace of sadness. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“In Exegol, when I arrived to rescue you, you told me you desired truth no matter the cost.”

She laughed humourlessly. “Your druid did good work, Kylo. I remember that too.”

"You do?" he asked, relieved. "Then you know how I feel about you, Rey. I can't lose you."

"You betrayed me, Kylo," she said, her voice steady.

“I’m sorry,” he responded huskily. “I made a terrible mistake hiding my time with Baz.” 

Rey felt so very, very tired. 

“Rey, please speak to me.” Kylo’s expression was wretched.

“I can’t do this,” she told him. “Not anymore.”

“Baz called me,” he tried to explain. “I should have told you straight away. I went to meet her because I wanted to fix my mistakes. I blamed myself entirely for the broken engagement.”

“And the other two weekends you spent with Baz? Why didn’t you tell me then?”

A muscle worked in his jaw. “I wanted to make sure Baz was committed to returning before I let you know. I didn’t want to upset you over nothing. And then I realised why I was hesitating to say anything at all- it felt like I was cheating.”

Rey looked away. She’d also been viewing Kylo’s behaviour in terms of infidelity, as if she had a claim on him. As if he owed her his loyalty. 

Didn’t he? He’d acknowledged it as well. They were doing more than hooking up. She deserved to be treated better than a booty call. 

“I don’t want you, Kylo,” she said, speaking to his broad chest. “I don’t want to live like this, being lied to and living in the shadows of a relationship I’ll never have.” 

His Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard. “I know I’ve let you down…”

“You hurt me,” she interrupted him. “All the time, every day you hurt me. You don’t acknowledge the extent of our relationship, not to the guard and not to the staff. You’ve never let me into your bedroom, not once. The only time you spend with me is at breakfast, which you have to eat, or after sex, when it’s convenient for you.” 

She pushed at his chest but he was unyielding. “Everything I do is to please you. I’ve befriended the maids and come to know your guard and I’m helping with the running of the household. I study aspects of Nabooan and Exegol politics because I know you like it when you can reflect on these things with me. I’ve done so much for you but you’ve never acknowledged any of it. The only way I can tell if you’re happy with me is if you’ve climaxed.”

She heard Kylo’s intake of breath, but Rey kept going, unloading the wealth of pain she’d been denying. “You think you’ve let me down because of a few meetings with Baz? Screw you, Kylo. You hurt me long before you cheated on me.” 

“I was trying to protect myself, Rey. I behaved like a coward. Please forgive me.”

She refused to look at him, not wanting to back down now that she’d stood her ground. She would cry later.

“May I speak?” he asked when her silence stretched out.

She nodded grumpily.

“I learnt something during my time with Bazine,” Kylo said. Rey glared at him but he wasn’t dissuaded. “I realised I didn’t want to be with her. I never really loved her. She was the same but I had changed.”

“What—what do you mean?” Rey asked, curious despite herself.

“I was different because I’d fallen in love with someone else. Being with this person has affected me. I thought I wanted one thing, but now I know I need something else.”

Fresh tears fell from Rey’s eyes, pink blossoming in her cheeks. “If you tell me you’ve been secretly dating another woman, I’ll bloody kill you.”

Kylo burst out laughing.

She gave him a wry smile. "I'm to blame too," she said. "I should have walked away from you months ago."

He drew back, his expression pained.

Rey sighed. "You needed time to work out what I meant to you, Kylo, but I also needed time to work on myself. Snoke threw us into this relationship and we've been reacting to each other ever since. The sex has been great but we're a mess emotionally."

Kylo ran a palm over his face as if washing it. "What do you want, Rey? What do you need?"

"Good questions," she exhaled. "I want honesty, Kylo. And I want a man who will love only me. But more than that, I _need_ to be happy in myself. You're amazing, Supreme Leader of Naboo, but not even you can complete me."

He nodded. "I can say with all my heart that I can give you the first two thing, Rey Niima, but that last one..."

"Yeah. It's about time I saw a therapist," Rey admitted, more to herself than Kylo. She'd been killing herself pleasing this man but that wasn't what love was about. It was two people on equal footing meeting life head on, caring and compromising with one other. Fear of abandonment had warped her idea of a healthy relationship.

"Maybe I could join you in a few sessions." Kylo sounded hesitant.

Rey stared at him. "You'd do that for me?"

He nodded. "Anything, baby. I want to make this work."

"How would we even start to describe the dragon to a therapist?" Rey giggled. "He's much more than a jealous puppy."

He leaned forward and kissed her.

There was nothing tentative or gentle about this kiss. It was aggressive, passionate and all-consuming. The more pliant and responsive Rey was in Kylo’s arms, the less demanding his kisses became. He slowed their pace, lifting her by the waist, allowing her legs to wrap around him. At the sudden feel of Kylo, so hard and solid against the damp heat between her legs, Rey felt a flare of desire.

She pulled away, only just managing to peel her lips from his, their bodies still melded together. “Now?” she protested. 

Kylo’s answering smile was wicked, one hand already wrapped around his thick cock. Rey whimpered when he ripped her little lace panties, lifting her effortlessly, settling her on his staff. She was so wet that he slid inside easily, her ankles locking on the small of his back. He cupped her buttocks and moved her up and down his shaft in languid strokes.

She came before he did, her face buried in his neck and his fingers tight on her flesh.

“You’re diabolical,” she murmured once she had caught her breath.

“I love you, Rey.”

She froze, the words so unexpected she was afraid they would disappear like dew in the morning sun. “Kylo…”

“You don’t have to…”

“I love you too,” she gasped, the words tumbling out of her. “I’ve always loved you, from the day we first met, even when I tried to tell myself that loving you was the worst mistake I could make.”

He groaned, cupping her face. “I promise to spend the rest of our lives earning your trust, Rey,” he said, so serious she could barely stand to meet his gaze.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” she whispered.

Rey knew there were internal wounds that would take time to heal, insecurities from her childhood and Kylo’s both, but who was she to deny a supreme leader? After all, he was the only man she’d ever loved.

“Now there’s someone else who’s been dying to spend time with you.”

Rey squealed as Kylo transformed into the dragon with a ripple of ruby scale. The long, muscular neck stretched and hot breath fanned over her body. The tip of a gigantic tongue touched her face, licking an unexpected tear and leaving behind a massive spot of saliva. 

She reached for the hard maw of the beast, stroking, petting. Her heart burst with love for the dragon and the man he protected. She curled herself against its muscular belly, enjoying the warmth. The beast nudged her with a clawed hand.

Rey gripped a black talon, never intending to let go.


	17. Epilogue- Can't Get Enough

Rey was married in blood red, an homage to her husband’s avatar. 

The dress was simple yet extravagant, with tiny cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, the bodice covered in shimmering crimson flowers with red crystal detailing, the long, trailing skirt a burst of crimson flowers on a snow white ground.

Kylo had never seen a female more beautiful than his wife.

Kylo and his groomsmen were in classic black tuxedos. Rey had suggested they wear their military gear before she realised the black leather they preferred on a daily basis _was_ their uniform.

The wedding ceremony was overseen by Druid Skywalker, his sudden inclusion in the life of the supreme leader helping repair a previously fractured relationship. Rey liked the bearded old man, peppering him with a million questions about Nabooan life and culture and listening with gratifying attention to his long-winded responses. 

Kylo’s new bride was currently in the middle of the dance floor with an awkward Hux, chattering like a magpie as the most violent member of the Royal Guard grimaced in discomfort. 

Hux held Rey’s small form like an elephant would grasp a crystal figurine in its trunk. Snap was surreptitiously filming a video of the moment on his phone from behind a large vase of flowers while Mitaka stood sniggering next to him. It would be a long time before Hux lived down the image of himself waltzing to Shania Twain’s _Still The One._

Finn smirked when he saw the direction of Kylo’s gaze. “Wonders will never cease. Do you think Rey will also have Hux making potpourri from dried flowers after the wedding?”

Kylo laughed. 

He’d never felt so happy in all his life. He was slightly tipsy on ale and already looking forward to the honeymoon. A private carriage was on standby on the other side of a portal, waiting to take Rey and him to Coruscant, the most beautiful (and only) holiday destination on Naboo. Rey loved the water and Coruscant boasted exquisite lake country. The otherworldly getaway was a surprise for the woman he loved.

“Are you leaving?” he asked Finn.

His best friend nodded. “Bags packed, ready to go.”

“Happy hunting,” Kylo said, raising his glass.

Finn grinned. “I’d like to say it’s the first time I’ve stalked a girl but that would be a lie.”

Kylo glanced in Rey’s direction again. Finn was on his way to fetch Kylo’s second surprise.

Over the last year, Kylo had dedicated himself to two things; making Rey understand he loved her completely and locating her five sisters. At this stage, they had found one female, a teacher living in Sydney, Australia. There were a couple of other promising leads, but Kylo couldn’t wait to introduce Rey to her first blood relative.

Rey was everything to him and he wanted to give her the world in return. Another ninety-nine years and they could start having kids.

His eyes met Snoke’s poisonous yellow gaze across the ballroom and he nodded in acknowledgment. Kylo had invited the emperor to his wedding, wanting to make it clear he would no longer accept any attempts to kidnap Rey. Not that Snoke knew he was aware of the first one. 

“I can’t believe he showed,” Finn muttered.

“Be nice,” Kylo replied. “Besides, it’s easier to keep an eye on Snoke if he’s within throwing distance.” 

“I’ll leave that to you. Time for me to head to Oz.” 

“Be gentle with this one,” Kylo warned him. “Rey won’t be pleased if you upset a sister she hasn’t even met.”

Finn gave a shrug. “You know me. I’ll be my charming self and that will loosen up the target.”

Kylo rolled his eyes. He took a step toward the dance floor to place Rey back in his arms and rescue Hux from yet another awkward waltz when he paused. “What’s the girl called again?”

Finn’s dark gaze gleamed like the night sky. “Her name is Rose. Rose Tico.” He smiled. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An additional note: I have loved all you readers on this fic. Thank you for investing in this story and talking through all the motivations and character behaviours with me. It was a pretty messed up premise, but I sincerely hope you've enjoyed the journey. Reylo forever. Xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> I grew up reading all sorts of books and some of my favourite have been in the realm of fantasy. I wondered what a Reylo version of a fantasy universe might be like. What I've written is considered low fantasy (where fantasy elements collide with the normal human world, like in Harry Potter) rather than high fantasy (which is the creation of a whole new fantasy world, like in The Lord of the Rings). I have definitely been inspired by JR Ward's _Black Dagger Brotherhood_ series and Christine Feehan's _Shadow Rider_ series. 
> 
> I started this story a while ago as an original fic but it was Reylo that helped me bring the tale to its conclusion. It's been a fun ride. In truth, I became more interested in the relationships within the story than its fantastical elements. I hope you enjoy. Comments are welcome. I'd say something about being kind, but you guys are almost always lovely. Xoxo
> 
> My title comes from Tolkien's _The Hobbit_ : 'So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.'


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